Serie A: Spezia-Roma 0-1, Abraham’s penalty in the 99th minute

From our correspondent Andrea Pugliese

February 27
– SPICE

It takes at least ten scoring and 4 poles before Roma can unlock the game and win it. And he does it in a thrilling final, with a penalty awarded on the final double crossbar and Abraham who scores in the ninth minute of added time. The Giallorossi victory is deserved for what has been produced throughout the game, but the many failed opportunities must make us reflect. You can’t waste a lot and risk not winning a long dominated game. La Spezia, on the other hand, held up stubbornly, having to play the whole second half in ten due to the double naivety of Amian, who left Motta’s team in ten when the Ligurians were also playing.

Dribbling and verticality

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Thiago Motta prefers Agudelo to Gyasi in attack, opting for a more defensive midfield with Sala replacing Maggiore. Mourinho, on the other hand, decides to have more quality in the wing and on the left sends the young Zalewski onto the field, with Vina and Maitland-Niles both relegated to the bench. Roma, however, ends up playing almost always on the other side, on the right, where Karsdorp, as usual, misses many supports and crosses. Roma manages to break through often, finding depth on more than one occasion, also because the central structure of La Spezia never finds the right balance. The two Giallorossi attacking midfielders (Pellegrini and Mkhitaryan) create havoc in Motta’s ideas, with Kiwior often on the trail of Pellegrini and Nikolaou often forced to go out on the Armenian. Vague balances emerge, where the Giallorossi often slip. The first chills bring them Mancini with the head and a soft shot by Pellegrini, then it is again the Giallorossi captain who goes away in the middle and hits a sensational post from outside the area (with Provedel then good on Abraham). In the middle the amazing play of Verde, who with a high-class piece touches the goal on the opposite post. The former Giallorossi started on the left, then Motta moved him to the right to allow him to return with a strong foot. The Ligurians are also forced to give up Sala almost immediately due to a muscle problem (inside Maggiore after 12 ‘of play), but more generally they never manage to find Nzola and put the French center forward in a position to be dangerous. On the other hand, however, Abraham struggles to make himself dangerous and when he has the right ball (19 ‘), he works it well, but the touch of rightness ends just outside. Then in the end the double madness of Amian, who first smanaccia the face of Zalewski (taking a yellow that could also be red) and then stops a restart of Pellegrini with a blatant withholding, which leads Fabbri to the second yellow and the consequent expulsion.

Thrilling finale

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So Motta sends Ferrer in for Verde and repositions himself with a 4-4-1, Foti instead opts for Zaniolo instead of Mancini, moving to a superoffensive 4-3-3, even with Zalewski as the left-back. The pressure from Roma was immediately strong, with Abraham close to scoring a header and Cristante hitting the post from outside. But Spezia the opportunity to pass if he builds it on the counterattack, with Nzola going away to Zalewski and Rui Patricio to say no. Then the festival of goals eaten at the Giallorossi begins: first Pellegrini misses a penalty in motion, then Veretout kicks to the side face to face with Provedel. The mistakes in front of the Giallorossi begin to be so many, with the minutes passing and the game that does not unlock. Motta then throws Gyasi in so as not to make Nzola feel too alone, Foti instead plays the El Shaarawy card, with the Giallorossi who are now on the pitch with six players who are forwards by profession. Nzola wastes another good opportunity, Zaniolo shoots very high from distance, Provedel is still good on Pellegrini. Then everything happens: Reca gives a ball to Abraham, who, face to face with Provedel, devours the goal of the advantage (in an attempt to serve Pellegrini), then Zaniolo commits Provedel again and Pellegrini again touches the intersection from the outside. It is now a siege, even El Shaarawy and Mkhitaryan try, in vain. The latest move is then Shomurodov for Zalewski, with El Shaarawy climbing to full-back. A free kick from Pellegrini comes out by a whisker, Mkhitaryan jumps all in the area, but Pellegrini and Abraham are unable to bag the winning goal at the last minute. But that’s not all, with the Giallorossi taking a double cross from Zaniolo on a corner. On Zaniolo’s header, however, there is a kick in the face received by Maggiore, a penalty granted with the help of the Var, with Abraham who bags from the spot in the 54th minute. It is a thrilling ending, but on balance a deserved victory by Roma.