Roma-Salernitana 2-1: Perez and Smalling sign the victory

A terrible effort, but in the end Roma found with a one-two from Perez and Smalling three fundamental points, which allow them to stay in fifth place and to repel the assault of Lazio and Fiorentina for the Europa League. The Giallorossi, however, had to suffer a lot against a good Salernitana, who took the lead in the first half with a free-kick from Radovanovic from the edge. The guests, among other things, have something to regret for having missed the 2-0 goal with Kastanos, just before the Giallorossi overturn. Among the hosts, Oliveira, Mkhitaryan and Smalling did well, while the midfield duo formed by Coulibaly and Ederson was good among the Campania players.

Rado goal

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Mourinho once again leaves Zaniolo out for Felix and confirms that he does not trust Maitland-Niles at all. Spinazzola returns to the bench instead, greeted by a roar from the Olimpico. On the other hand, Nicola goes in search of safety points, relying as always on Ribery in support of Djuric. Bodo’s match weighs heavily on Roma’s legs, while Salernitana still wants to believe in the dream-salvation. So the Giallorossi try to play the game for about ten minutes, then lower the laps and when there is a need to restart they always struggle a bit to accompany the maneuver. Mkhitaryan’s initial shot responds to Ederson’s, then it is again Mkhitaryan who becomes dangerous, but the shot is throttled. In a game that struggles to take off, there is a completely approximate performance by Manuel Volpi, the referee, who in the first half misses everything there is to be wrong: he does not grant two penalties that they seem very clear (Ibanez’s foul on Djuric at 15 ‘and Obi’s push on Mkhitaryan at 34’), he gives another for Gyomber’s foul on Felix who then removes with the help of the Var and reverses or does not whistle some sensational punishments. Thus, in this chaos, Salernitana passes with a free kick from Radovanovic (27 ‘), good at finding the high angle, also thanks to a very generous Giallorossi barrier. The problem of Roma is that they just can’t produce a game, while for the Campania players the goal of the advantage is a godsend.

The one-two

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So in the second half Mourinho decides to change and sends Zaniolo in for Kumbulla, passing to a superoffensive 4-2-3-1 (with El Shaarawy left back). In this way, Roma tries to cut the opponent’s defensive line, always at five and very narrow and compact. Abraham suffered a golden opportunity, but wasted it on control, while on the other side Coulibaly wasted high from a good position. Felix then devours the equal header from an excellent position, in a game where the Ghanaian has made a lot of mistakes and often very easy things. Then it is Zaniolo who is dangerous twice in a row, but without success. The Giallorossi is an increasingly strong pressure, with Salernitana now all curled up on itself to protect the precious advantage. In the whirlwind of changes, an even more offensive Roma emerges (Shomurodov, Zalewski and Perez for Oliveira, El Shaarawy and Felix), with a 4-3-3 that sees Mkhitaryan and Perez as mezzals. The knockout blow, however, has Kastanos, who alone in front of Rui Patricio kicks on the Portuguese goalkeeper. And as often happens in football, a goal went straight away: in the 36th minute Perez caught a perfect parable from the outside, for the well-deserved 1-1 for the Giallorossi. And three minutes later the 2-1 also arrives, with Smalling perfect in the tap-in on Veretout’s free kick. Then Sepe saves on Shomurodov, Zaniolo devours the safety goal and Ederson has the last great chance for the equal guest. It ends like this, with the celebration of the 65 thousand at the Olimpico.