Contemporary off an epic collapse towards their bitter rivals Juventus, the place Roma misplaced a two-goal lead with 12 minutes remaining, and dealing with membership legend Daniele De Rossi, whom they unceremoniously faraway from the supervisor’s bench final fall, and dealing with Genoa on the highway (the place Roma hasn’t gained since 2021), the Roma Occurred meter was already within the purple zone earlier than kickoff. To make issues worse, a brief bench resulting from quite a few accidents meant calcio karma wasn’t on Roma’s aspect this afternoon.
All these components conspired to doom Gian Piero Gasperini in a disappointing however not stunning 2-1 loss on the Marassi on Sunday. And contemplating how painfully uninteresting the primary half was (six mixed photographs that required just one save from both goalkeeper), it was a miracle this match didn’t finish in a scoreless draw. With all that in thoughts, we’ll preserve the recap targeted on the second half.
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After a dreary first 45 minutes, each Gasperini and De Rossi desperately looked for options to their attacking issues. Nevertheless, as is usually the case in these sorts of matches, the desk tilted due to a dodgy name.
The digicam angle on this replay would have you ever consider that Pellegrini took out Mikael Ellertson with the fury of a Cobra Kai leg sweep, however in actuality, Pellegrini hit Ellertson with the power of a yellow lab gently nudging you to pet it. Nonetheless, Andrea Colombo pointed to the spot with out hesitation, setting the stage for Junior Messias to grab the lead, which proved to be short-lived.
(Properly, now that I take a look at it once more, he does seem to make contact together with his ankle)
Roma equalized three minutes later after a quick head tennis match within the field: First got here Gianluca Mancini, who flicked a Pellegrini nook towards the close to publish, solely to see Messias head the ball again into the field, the place Evan Ndicka in some way managed to play a looping header towards the alternative publish, the place it gently fell into the purpose to tie the match at one purpose apiece.
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Whereas Roma performed with extra life following Ndicka’s third purpose in as many matches, De Rossi’s aspect matched them stride for stride, equalizing the Giallorossi’s attacking effort over the subsequent 25 minutes regardless of solely having 31% of the ball. Contemplating their struggles on the Marassi over the previous a number of years, Wesley’s suspension, and the quite a few accidents on the frontline, a 1-1 draw would have been a good outcome for Roma; disappointing however simply.
Then the opposite shoe dropped within the eightieth minute when Patrizio Masini and Vitinha mixed to catch Roma off guard, sealing all three factors with a easy sq. ball throughout the face of purpose. However ought to Genoa have even had the ball to begin with?
In case you wished to dive into the replay with the vigor of a JFK conspiracy theorist, you may query whether or not or not the ball went off Mancini’s head or Vitinha’s again previous to the throw-in that led to his match-winner moments later.
Remaining Ideas
Whether or not you attribute it to accidents, fatigue, or the smooth penalty name towards Pellegrini and this blink-and-you ’d-miss-it throw-in choice, Roma merely wasn’t as much as par at this time and, at no level, appeared assured in victory. Because of at this time’s defeat, the Giallorossi slide again into fifth place, although they’re tied on factors (51) with Como, who they face subsequent weekend. Nevertheless, with a mid-week Europa League match towards Bologna on Thursday, Roma’s depth and endurance will likely be taxed even additional.
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However make no mistake: their Champions League life is on the road subsequent week.
Up Subsequent
Roma travels to Bologna on Thursday for the primary leg of the Europa League Spherical of 16.
