Europa League, Sheriff-Roma 1-2: Lukaku’s goal decides

If the result is the end of a journey, Roma choose the most tortuous path to win their debut match in the Europa League. The light at the end of the tunnel, as expected, finally comes on when the Lukaku-Dybala duo reforms in the second half, the only factor capable of giving dignity to a previously modest performance. Thus it ends with a 1-2 sanctioned by Talal’s own goal and by goals from Tovar and indeed Lukaku, which crumbles the dream of a Sheriff who had been more than dignified up to that point and who can also complain about a post hit at 0-0.

mou in the stands

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More than the melancholy spectacle offered by the teams on the pitch, the attraction in the stands is José Mourinho, in the stands due to the first matchday of the four-day suspension he has to serve after the controversy of the final in Budapest last May. The Special One is quite cold, he wears glasses when he has to send a message to his men on the bench and little more. However, he remains frozen in the 28th minute, when Renato Sanches comes off due to one of the usual injuries that have haunted him for years. Enough so that in the 32nd minute he immediately heads for the locker room (and then returns to the stands at the start of the second half), perhaps missing out on the slightly more delicious things of the match, up until that moment of melancholy ugliness. Roma’s 3-5-2, in fact, makes the Italian Bordin choose to also opt for the three-man defence, which creates a 3-4-1-2 which has the attacking midfielder Talal as the only one capable of turn on play and imagination. For the rest, the low center of gravity pushes the Giallorossi to guard the attacking midfield, but to no avail due to the poor quality of the pace and precision in the passes. It follows that Mou’s team finds itself trying to serve a constantly stifled Lukaku, even if the Belgian tries to trigger some insertions from El Shaarawy and Karsdorp, with Pharaoh challenging goalkeeper Koval in the 29th and 37th minutes. Not much, also because in the fields behind the midfield – which with the exit of Sanches passes from Cristante to Paredes as the low top – the generous but imprecise Sheriff attackers try to create the dangers. Moral: after a start that saw Joao Paulo shoot in the 8th minute, the most dangerous action came in the 35th minute, when a cross from Talal found Mbekeli, who hit the post on the fly. The stadium despairs and so, after Zalewski shoots high from a good position in the 39th minute, the home team’s insult comes in the 48th minute. A free kick taken in midfield by Paredes finds a double deflection from Talal and Kiki, who put the goalkeeper out of action. They don’t even have time to put the ball in the center before the half ends, with Mourinho already in the belly of the stadium for a while.

dybala light

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The second half opens along the lines of the first, that is, with Roma playing in the opposing midfield and Sheriff trying to restart. In the 2nd minute, in fact, Mbekeli finds a freeway that leads him to shoot just over. Then the Giallorossi team lowers the pace to try to manage the match, but losing most of the duels in midfield, the hosts always find spaces in which to launch themselves, taking away corner kicks. From one of these, in the 12th minute, in a melee in the area Tovar found the deserved equaliser. Roma tried to recover and in the 15th minute El Shaarawy finished just over, before Mou sent Spinazzola, Bove and Dybala onto the field for Zalewski, the impalpable Aouar and El Shaarawy. The first ring, however, is always from Talal, who in the 19th minute challenges Svilar with a free kick. With Joya on the pitch, however, the quality grows exponentially, given that the ball runs differently and more effectively in the midfield. Lukaku took advantage of it immediately, receiving a serve from Cristante in the 20th minute, served by Dybala, and beating Koval. The Giallorossi’s advantage tends to stretch the teams further. Now it is Sheriff who must seek danger at all costs, but with the modest technical level that they showcase, all in all the advantage is more than Roma, able to better exploit the prairies that open up. It’s no surprise that the Giallorossi mostly had the opportunities, as they tested the goalkeeper in the 33rd minute with Dybala on a free kick and in the 39th minute with Paredes, while in the 41st minute it was the substitute Belotti who came close to the post. The best opportunity for the hat trick, however, came in the 44th minute, when goalkeeper Koval deflected Cristante’s effort onto the crossbar. Game over? Nope, on a throw from the midfield Talal is about to mock Svilar, with Sheriff also demanding a possible penalty. The seven minutes of injury time became long, but the match ended in glory for Roma, who sealed it with a final free kick from Dybala blocked by the goalkeeper. All for the celebration of the handful of fans who – despite the travel ban – arrived in Tiraspol. They certainly deserved the victory.