The 60 second recap: Sassuolo 0 Roma 1

Roma finished the season with a deserved win over Sassuolo. The team from Reggio Emilia have never managed to beat the Romans in Serie A play. In a game that carried zero repercussions most Roma fans kept an ear on the 4th place clincher being battled out at the Olimpico as our fierce city rivals were battling Inter. Kostas Manolas unlikely strike on goal was ultimately the difference-maker. This is your 60 second recap

Lukasz Skorupski:

The Pole was able to shake off a nervous start on the distribution front. He had a goal saving stop that ultimately proved vital for the victory.

Alessandro Fiorenzi

Virtually absent today. He was neither an attacking threat nor a defensive presence. He proved again he is playing out of position.

Aleksandar Kolarov

He was on the beach. Constantly left the center back on a one-one situation with Politano. Holiday tickets were booked early

Federico Fazio

The Argentinian was average at best today. His lack of pace was not exploited by Berardi and Co. which made it easy for him to simply coast.

Kostas Manolas

The Naxos-born CB found himself in the unusual predicament that is: shoot or cross the ball. Naturally he chose to smash the ball against Pegolo. His audacious strike proved to be the winner after all.

Lorenzo Pellegrini

Again and again DiFrancesco has given him a chance to showcase him but yet again the former Sassuolo man failed to impress. He constantly lost possession at the final third.

Maxime Gonalons

Solid in front of the back four. No creation at all. He is what we thought he was. Not a regista

Kevin Strootman

Clearly rusty from the lack of action lately. It was good to see him doing his usual cleanup work. Need more from him next season.

Patrik Schick

He seemed up for it. The one-on-one chance vs Acervi proved the potential game changer he is. Unluckily his effort graced the outside of the post missing a glorious chance to stamp his name on the score sheet.

Edin Dzeko

Our most consistent player all season long. Again and again he proves to be an irreplaceable asset in finally breaking Juve’s chokehold on the Serie A trophy. Had two clear chances and the keeper saved them both.

Diego Perotti

The Argentina winger found himself with the majority of Roma’s possession. He was a constant threat on Sassuolo’s backline. Unfortunately for him his late season injury all but finished the prospects of making Sampaoli’s 23 man squad. He lacked the final product.

Stephan El Shaarawy

The lack of pace and intensity of the game made his presence almost not noted at all. The usual energy he brings as a sub was not there at all today

Elio Capradossi

The more I see from the Roma youth product the more I like. He seems to be a legitimate contender to take that 3rd CB spot and make it his own.

Gérson

Sabatini’s Brazilian gem celebrated his 21 birthday today. He has yet to prove his fee. He continues to disappoint.

Roma v. Juve: Centre of Attention

This Sunday’s game between Roma and Juve could have been monumental, now, thanks to results elsewhere, it’s merely very important. For Roma it’s a chance to seal a Champions League place, keep Juve waiting for the title, and, perhaps, lay down a marker for next season.

If I asked you to name a current Juventus player, I’m guessing you’d go for Buffon, maybe Chiellini or Barzagli, perhaps Higuain or Dybala. I’d be surprised if your first thought was to their midfield, yet I think that is the key to their side, and winning the midfield battle will be the key to a Roma triumph. In particular I am hoping for a big game from Radja Nainggolan up against Blaise Matuidi.

I could really have picked any of Juve’s midfield but chose Matuidi with his performance in the earlier fixture this season in mind, on form Matuidi does all the prosaic stuff that lets the others play, he tackles, he fouls, he disrupts, he runs and runs and runs, and he plays those short, simple passes that keep the ball and create time and space for the likes of Pjanic.

Radja’s task is twofold, if he can win the defensive battles with Matuidi by matching the workrate, winning the tackles, hassling and harrying when in possession, then Roma can control the midfield, then “Il Ninja” can have some fun…….

With Juve perhaps preoccupied by stopping Dzeko, I see Radja having a very important attacking role to play, creating obviously, but also by being a goal threat, getting forward to add numbers in attack and by testing Buffon from distance

One slight disappointment in Radja’s season has been the reduced goal tally, he has created more, but 6 goals this season is too low a total for a player with his power and accuracy of shot, and with his ability to time a run from midfield. A few signs lately that the goals are returning, 4 since mid-March, Sunday an ideal opportunity to add more, if he needs any inspiration a quick look at the equivalent game last season should help

I fully expect Radja, DDR and the rest to win their battles, control the midfield and bring Roma a memorable win.

Bring on Sunday then bring on next season!

Daje Roma e Forza Radja

Brief View of Barcelona – Roma

Before the start of this game, anyone predicting anything less than a loss by 4 or 5 for Roma, was scoffed at. Even the most optimistic of Roma fans, held little belief in the fact that we even belonged on the pitch with Barcelona. Our poor history in Europe perhaps is mostly to blame for that. While the scoreline tells one story, let me tell mine.

If being honest, deep down, Romansta’s highest hopes were preventing the proverbial “floodgates” from opening and losing 7-0 or worse. On a similar note, fans of Italian football in general, are yearning for Italian teams to be more relevant in Europe again. That brings me to Roma’s performance tonight. The tactics (and/or counter tactics) were smart and well calculated. It was obvious that DiFrancesco and the team did their homework on how to handle Barcelona. From what I saw, Barca was not prepared for Roma to press high and with the character and scrappiness that they did. Clear frustration could be seen on the faces of the Blaugrana players because of it. Roma never did allow them to get into their “groove”. Most teams don’t go to Camp Nou to press hard and tonight Roma proved that they aren’t most teams. Instead of sitting back and absorbing all of the pressure in hopes of a draw or a narrow margin loss, Roma went for the win. Executing that win proved to be entirely different thing, however.

This game brought a lot of lucky and unlucky moments, depending on your point of view. It is my belief that if it weren’t for Dzeko’s lone goal, Roma would have just been unlucky. What are the odds of 2 own goals in one game? I might add that neither were the fault of DeRossi or Manolas exclusively. They just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Also, what are the odds that two chances for penalties were called against us? It begs the question “what would have changed in the momentum or result, had things gone our way?”. In the end, however, the score ended 4-1 and that is that. As tough as that is, we have to move on.

In conclusion: Unlucky or not, I am still proud to be a fan of Roma. Today they played with the kind of grit and mentality that we all beg for out of our team. They showed that they were not outclassed and belonged on the pitch. While the scoreline was harsh compared to the performance we saw, I certainly hope to see this mentality much more from this team. It is the mentality that would almost make a Romanista believe. With that, All the best and Forza Roma.

El Shaarawy Must Kick On

Fresh from a man of the match performance against Bologna, Stephan El Shaarawy should be brimming with confidence right now.

Not only did he score a stunner to give Roma the win on Saturday night, he performed well in all departments. Completing 81% of his passes, he was a good provider for his teammates, and grew in confidence throughout the match, becoming more willing to take shots on goal as the game went on.

Now, the winger has to become more consistent, playing to those standards on a regular basis. Having recently celebrated his 25th birthday, it’s the right time for him to step up and ensure he always makes a contribution when he plays.

When he first arrived at Roma, he made a great impact, scoring eight goals in sixteen league games at the back end of the 2015/16 season. It was beneficial for the player’s confidence, which had taken a knock in his previous spell at Monaco. Whilst he had failed to score a goal in Ligue 1, he quickly bounced back upon his return to his homeland.

Last season, he scored the same number of goals in double the number of Serie A appearances. Whilst he did fairly well over the course of the season, he didn’t manage to reach levels that made him a definite starter. He was competing with the equally talented Diego Perotti for a spot on the left wing, and the choice between the two was a difficult one for Luciano Spalletti.

This season, both have started well. El Shaarawy already has three goals in eight games, whilst Perotti has found the net once (from the penalty spot) in his seven appearances. It is vital for both players that they get on the scoresheet as often as possible, in order to increase their chances of being selected in the starting line up.

El Shaarawy has shown he can do that, and with some skill. His goals from open play can add another dimension to Roma’s attack, but he needs to improve his sharpness. For example, during the Bologna game in which he stood out, he also made a couple of poor decisions in the final third, such as passing when he should have shot.

If Il Faraone can remove these occasional errors of judgement from his game, and if he starts creating more chances for his teammates as well, he can make a real impact over the course of the season. As the team moves on from one influential Egyptian forward, Mohamed Salah, they can look to another player with Egyptian heritage to help fill the void left by the Liverpool man. It’s time for El Shaarawy to step up again and play at the levels he did when he first arrived in Rome, week in, week out. Saturday’s outing was a firm step in the right direction – can he continue on that path?

 

Dzeko’s Defining Season

Dzeko looking to maintain record breaking season with Roma.

When Edin Dzeko scored against Inter Milan on 26th August, it was his 50th goal in a Roma shirt. Reaching this landmark was helped by his outstanding form last season, which saw him beat the likes of Mauro Icardi and Gonzalo Higuain to the Capocannoniere. He’s already underway for another high-scoring year, but is he going to repeat the amazing feats he accomplished in 2016-17? Continue reading “Dzeko’s Defining Season”