The Giallorossi came into today’s match bruised from an embarrassing loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League. While the 4-3 loss to José Mourinho’s men was humbling and effectively confirmed that Serie A on the whole still has plenty of work to do to catch up to the best of the best in Europe, there was next to no time for Roma to lick their wounds. Genoa, Stephan El Shaarawy, and Daniele De Rossi were waiting for them to return to the Stadio Olimpico around 72 hours after the Madrid match.
With
that in mind, it’s not surprising that Gian Piero Gasperini heavily rotated the starting lineup against Serie A’s struggling sleeping giants. Paulo Dybala and Manu Koné are nursing injuries, Donyell Malen was serving a suspension, and even players who are permanent fixtures of the starting eleven who were available, including Gianluca Mancini and Bryan Cristante, were given the night off. In their place came “Roma B,” a mixture of some of Roma’s most exciting young talents, Maarten De Roon, and Pierluigi Gollini.
Perhaps the slow start to the game is more a reflection of the fact that most of these players haven’t started a match together before. Roma never had an issue maintaining possession today, with i Lupi owning 61% of possession before halftime and the eye test suggesting that they were outclassing Genoa barring one or two great chances from El Shaarawy. Still, I could feel a touch of discomfort growing in the pit of my stomach when the first half ended without a goal. Was Roma going to fall back into its old ways after getting punched in the mouth by Real Madrid? Would they no longer display the characteristics that were so encouraging to start the season: an ability to meet the match where it is, and provide what was necessary against all opponents, instead of playing down to their competition?
Fortunately, the moment Gasperini’s men returned to the pitch after the halftime break, the answer became clear: the Madrid loss had not broken this team. It was Santiago Castro, a player who had been impressing as a sub for Donyell Malen to start the season but who hadn’t yet found the back of the net, who broke the deadlock, with a true beauty of a goal:
I can’t say that I expected Castro to score his first goal with a cheeky chip; from my knowledge of his game, the former Bologna man is best known for his ability to score from distance. This goal suggests that he can adapt to the moment in the way that this Roma side has adapted to the challenge each match brings, and is incredibly encouraging for those of us who want to make sure that both Malen and Castro are able to thrive at the Stadio Olimpico. Expect to see Castro play with more confidence now that he’s finally scored in a Roma kit; the talent was always there, but strikers are finicky creatures, and sometimes all it takes is one goal to open the floodgates.
Despite that first goal, the match didn’t feel truly over for some time. De Rossi’s men kept swinging and pushing Roma’s defense, but Roma’s heavily rotated defense held firm thanks to the leadership of Evan N’Dicka, making it so that Pierluigi Gollini was required for only one save all match. Then came Roma’s second goal, which was truly a beaut for three different reasons.
I mean, what can you say? So much credit for this one has to go to Matias Soule, who was essential to both of Roma’s goals in this match and whose dribbling is looking more and more impressive by the week. Emanuele Lulli also did an excellent job finding the exact right location to get this goal past Justin Bijlow, and is continuing to show himself as not only an important part of Roma’s future, but its present as well. The 19-year-old received his first-ever Player of the Match award for his performance across 78 minutes of play, and you get the sense from his professionalism and maturity despite his youth that it will be the first of many, many such awards for him.
Takeaways
As the whistle blew for the full ninety, I felt much better about Roma’s ability to find success in Serie A after the full-on emotional deflation caused by the Giallorossi’s midweek collapse against Madrid. I told myself ahead of that match that the most important thing for Roma this season is to return to the Champions League next season, not to be a world-beater in their return to Europe’s premiere competition. The club’s incredibly strong start to the season in Serie A had me dreaming bigger, and maybe those dreams are still reasonable; their clean sheet win over Genoa despite heavy rotation certainly suggests that they can keep pace with Inter for the long haul, even when the fixture list becomes incredibly congested.
A lot of that comes down to the exciting depth that Roma now has in its back pocket. The continued development of Santiago Castro, Rodrigo Mora, Matias Soule, and Emanuele Lulli is arguably just as important for Roma’s success this season as the superstardom being displayed by Donyell Malen, Paulo Dybala, and Mile Svilar. None of Roma’s indisputable three best players suited up against Genoa; it didn’t matter. For Roma to become a giant of Italy and Europe, that must become truer and truer by the week. Today’s match suggests that future isn’t too far away, even if there are sure to be more bumps in the road like the midweek loss to Madrid.
Up Next
The Giallorossi have yet another Champions League match on the horizon, as they host Slovan Bratislava at the Olimpico on Tuesday. Totti willing, that match can continue the good vibes from this match and give Roma their first win of the Champions League league play.
