Aouar closes the gap in the second half, then Pellegrini hits the crossbar from a free-kick, but the Venetians (10 due to Hien’s red card) hold on to the Giallorossi’s final assault
– VERONA
Another misstep, still no victory for Mourinho’s Roma. Worse, this time a 2-1 defeat also arrives in Verona, albeit undeserved on balance. In fact, the Giallorossi finished with 16 4-a-side shots, 12 corners (against one, in the 101st minute, from Hellas), 72% ball possession and two crossbars (Cristante and Pellegrini). However, in the end it was Verona who rejoiced, making the most of the Giallorossi defensive amnesia and punishing with Duda and Ngonge. Aouar’s goal is not enough for Roma to change the game. Too many mistakes, starting with the use of Paredes, that the defensive phase seems to have forgotten about for a while. For the Venetians, on the other hand, solid performance by Djuric and Ngonge, but also Hongla and Hien did very well (up to red).
Hellas ahead
—
Mourinho renounces Aouar, to give more consistency to the midfield by inserting Paredes in the center and moving Cristante to mezzala. Baroni, on the other hand, chooses Djuric as an offensive reference, pulling Ngonge back on the trocar. Not even the time to think that Verona is already ahead, with Duda taking advantage of a faulty rebound from Rui Patricio on Terraciano and a dormitona from Lllorente on the rebound. So Roma tries to regroup, but the move to put Paredes and Cristante together doesn’t pay off: the Argentine is slow in recoveries, the blue midfielder can’t be found (but it’s him who comes close to equalizing in the 10th minute, with a header on Pellegrini’s corner). Dybala and Pellegrini try to invent something (the captain almost equalizes from outside), Belotti fights but in vain and Zalewski kicks Magnani with a sure shot when the equal seems done. Roma constantly play the game, Doveri first gives and then takes away (initial offside by Dybala) a penalty for an alleged hand ball by Hongla (who looks like a lion on the pitch) and in full stoppage time the Venetians 2-0: unbalanced defense general, with Lllorente empty and Hongla mocking Smalling in one on one.
RECOVERY TESTS
—
In the second half Mourinho changes everything, putting in Aouar, Spinazzola and El Shaarawy in place of Llorente, Kristensen and Paredes and switching to a 4-3-3. After 4 minutes Roma also lost Zalewski (hit in the face after a clash with Duda), but in three minutes they created the conditions to reopen the game: Montipò first surpassed El Shaarawy, then said no to Cristante and finally came out empty on Belotti in the fray, with Aouar bagging the 2-1. Then Baroni runs for cover and puts more muscle and runs in the middle with Serdar, to limit the sources of opposing play, then also playing the Bonazzoli card to keep the team up and let them breathe. And in fact Rome no longer builds anything. But then the game could change in the 37th minute: red for Hien and cross from Pellegrini’s free-kick. The last chills came from a shot by Cristante and a header by Aouar. This is how it ends, with Hellas celebrating with its people and Rome with their heads bowed.
© REPRODUCTION RESERVED