Jose Mourinho's Roma made light work of Sunderland in a 2-0 win during their pre-season tour in Portugal on Wednesday.

In what was a peculiar meeting of the two sides, but a quirk we've come to expect with the randomness of pre-season friendlies, the Black Cats played out an invaluable 90 minutes against the inaugural Europa Conference League winners.

And with the 2022/23 season seeing them back in the Championship for the first time since 2017/18, this summer's preparations must be nothing less than spot on.

The same can be said for Roma, who must build on an impressive 2021/22 season with Mourinho in the hot seat, which ended with them lifting a major European trophy for the first time.

Roma have already strengthened their squad with the likes of Nemanja Matic and Mehmet Celik and have a busy pre-season schedule in Mourinho's homeland of Portugal ahead of the new season, where many will expect them to better last season's sixth place finish which secured Europa League football.

For the most part, results in pre-season mean absolutely nothing. Playing match after match is a way to get squads sharp and fully fit ready for the long campaign ahead, and integrate new plans and instructions in games that don't have any consequences.

But for Roma and Sunderland, this unusual clash felt like a lot more than just that. Particularly for Mourinho, too, who was in full stride throughout a sunny day in Albufeira.

TIRANA, ALBANIA - MAY 25: Ebrima Darboe, Felix Afena-Gyan, Tammy Abraham, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Amadou Diawara of AS Roma celebrate following their sides victory in the UEFA Conference League final match between AS Roma and Feyenoord at Arena Kombetare on May 25, 2022 in Tirana, Albania. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

Playing I Giallorossi was a surreal experience for Sunderland and gave them a seriously tough test to gear up for the Championship with. For Mourinho, a runout against English second tier opposition should have been a breeze, but don't think for one minute he was treating the affair with such nonchalance.

It was quite the opposite, in a game that was clearly played with an increased level of intensity. Sunderland midfielder Luke O'Nien wasn't afraid to get stuck into the opposition and asserted himself physically throughout the contest.

Eventually, this brought Mourinho to the boil. And in vintage Mourinho fashion, he took matters into his own hands when O'Nien caught Roger Ibanez after around 40 minutes, spilling onto the pitch with his coaching staff as his player received treatment on the floor, with the Mirror reporting that his protests to the officials was actually him demanding O'Nien be dismissed. Let's take a look.

WATCH: Fired up Mourinho spills onto pitch in pre-season friendly against Sunderland

He really will go to war for his players no matter the circumstances, won't he?

Mourinho is absolutely unhinged. We have to hold our hands up and say 'fair play' to his unrelenting mentality, with the friendly locked at 0-0 at that point.

Roma were far from distracted from his antics, which worked as Sunderland substituted O'Nien to avoid him from picking up a second yellow card.

TIRANA, ALBANIA - MAY 25: Jose Mourinho, Head Coach of AS Roma kisses the UEFA Europa Conference League Trophy after their sides victory during the UEFA Conference League final match between AS Roma and Feyenoord at Arena Kombetare on May 25, 2022 in Tirana, Albania. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

The Black Cats made a solid account of themselves, but Felix Afena-Gyan's opening goal after 75 minutes proved their undoing, before Nicolo Zaniolo added a second five minutes from full-time.

Let's hope Mourinho's redemption arc can continue with Roma into next season.