Thanks to yesterday’s shocking news of Mile Svilar’s fractured toe, which will keep the Serbian-Belgian keeper out for at least a month, we already knew Roma would face today’s fixture against Como under less-than-ideal circumstances. What no one could have predicted, however, was that those circumstances would grow even more dire as the match wore on, putting the Giallorossi in an even more disadvantageous position against one of their main rivals for a place in the top four, but more on that in a moment.
While the latter stages of today’s match tested Roma’s mettle and their endurance, the opening salvos at the Giuseppe Singaglia were firmly in their favor. Down a few key faces, none more critical than Svilar, Gian Piero Gasperini had to plug a few important holes before kickoff. In Svilar’s absence, Pierluigi Gollini tended the goal, Lorenzo Pellegrini returned to the starting lineup in lieu of Matías Soulé, while Marten de Roon made his first start for the Giallorossi.
The Svilar injury and Pellegrini starting in place of Soulé may have given some supporters pause, but Roma were firing on all cylinders in the first 20 minutes alone, creating more than 50% of their scoring chances. Roma’s most promising chance of the match was, ironically, their very first attempt on goal.
After Donyell Malen settled a loose ball in the box, kept possession, and picked out Paulo Dybala to his right, the Argentinian whiz had a clean look at goal. While it came from a relatively tight angle near the right post, we’ve seen Dybala curl in shots from more acute angles time and time again.
However, in this instance, Dybala fired directly at Como keeper Jean Butez, who easily scooped up La Joya’s left-footer. This strike, worth 0.37 xG yet yielding only 0.24 xGOT, suggested a fairly tame effort given the quality of the opportunity. Pellegrini would follow that up with two close calls of his own, none more agonizing than his 11th-minute curler that struck the post, while Manu Koné, Mario Hermoso and Donyell Malen would each took a pop on goal during this interval.
And, as incredible as it might sound, that was really the sum total of Roma’s attacking efforts tonight. While they added two more attempts before the half-time whistle, all the positive momentum they accrued during the first 45 minutes was rendered moot in the 53rd minute, thanks to an ill-advised challenge from Malen.
See for yourself…
Kudos to Malen for showcasing a bit of strength as he dribbled his way through multiple defenders, but his last touch, kind of an intentional chopping of the ball to create space, proved to be his undoing. After momentarily losing possession, Malen lunged to beat Kaiki to the loose ball and was shown a straight red. However, what initially appeared like a classic two-footer to the legs of an opponent in real time looks like a relatively benign, albeit foolish, challenge worthy of a yellow and stern lecture rather than an immediate dismissal.
And, as one would expect, this entirely killed whatever chances Roma had at retaining their spot at the top of the table. According to a recent study, when a team goes down to 10 men, it loses 55% of the time. In an even more damning statistical discovery, that same study, which analyzed 19,985 games in Europe’s top 5 leagues over the last 11 years, found that away teams are roughly 68% less likely to win after going down to 10 men than their home counterparts.
So, needless to say, Roma was up against it. However, in a remarkable display of resilience and sheer effort, Gasperini’s group held off Como’s advances for the remainder of the second half, plus an additional seven minutes of stoppage time, largely due to a rare mid-match referee change that saw Michael Fabbri leave the game due to injury and be replaced by Simone Sozza midway through the second half. (And kudos to Sozza for calling a clean game after unexpectedly being thrust into action.)
Final Thoughts
This wasn’t the result we dreamed of just 48 hours ago, but you have to be impressed by Roma’s defensive efforts today. As much as we fretted over Svilar’s injury, Gollini was outstanding today, charging off his line multiple times and making a few quick-twitch reflex saves along the way. As long as the likes of Evan Ndicka, Gianluca Mancini and Mario Hermoso are in front of him, he should be safe, but Gollini was remarkably composed this afternoon.
If Roma gets this Gollini week-in, week-out for the next month, they should be able to emerge from a brutal slate of fixtures relatively unscathed.
Up Next
Roma welcomes José Mourinho and Real Madrid to the Olimpico for a mid-week Champions League fixture on Wednesday. You won’t want to miss that one!
