Oh to be a neutral, tuning into some Saturday afternoon calcio and being treated to an end-to-end six-goal thriller by two entertaining teams. It certainly sounds preferrable to being put through the wringer by the rollercoaster of emotions that a game like that induces for those of us with loyalties one way or another. But you know what? That was some game regardless.
Roma’s unbeaten record in Serie A remains intact, although it was given the strongest test of its mettle yet by Napoli. There was some
optimism heading into the southbound trip that it was a good time to play Napoli, with both sides dealing with their own injury issues. But this has rarely been an easy venue for Roma to visit in recent years and Max Allegri’s teams have rarely been easy for Roma to break down either.
It looked like it was going to be a case of too good to be true when Roma found themselves falling behind. It was a wonder goal by Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa that gave Napoli the lead, with the midfielder scoring an impressive overhead kick.
And the deficit doubled early in the second half when Scott McTominay bundled in after a commendable attempt by Pierluigi Gollini to keep the preceding effort out. There was plenty of time to go, but it wasn’t unreasonable to think that was that.
At their ugliest, Roma gave up way too much space to Napoli, who exploited it well. But it wasn’t one-way traffic by any means. Roma had played their part in the first half, with Mario Hermoso having a curler deflected wide for a corner and the returning Bryan Cristante hitting the post with a header, for instance.
The bigger chances were Napoli’s, though, with Gollini on hand to rush out of his goal and deny a one-on-one chance at one point and also making a crucial save to thwart Mathias Olivera.
Roma’s back-up keeper also emerged well to make a save from Matteo Politano shortly after the goal that had made it 2-0, preventing Gian Piero Gasperini’s side from falling further behind.
Indeed, Roma weren’t ready to let this game unravel. Gasperini made a triple sub just before the hour mark in hope of changing the game.
But the chief instigator of Roma’s comeback was someone who’d already been on the pitch. Matias Soule had seen plenty of the ball throughout, but that final magic touch was just missing. Finally, he found it in the 69th minute, playing a neat give-and-go with Donyell Malen before curling a strike home into the bottom corner.
All of a sudden, there was belief again. Just five minutes later, Leonardo Balerdi smashed home his first goal for the club after a knockdown from a corner to make it 2-2. Roma were not going away without a fight.
Were they finally ready to push on for a win in one of these big games? At the very least, they could give Napoli a taste of their own medicine from the previous Derby del Sole in February, when Roma twice led but ended up having to settle for a 2-2 draw.
It almost all came undone, though, with McTominay putting Napoli in front again in the final 10 minutes. Once again, Roma gave him far too much space on the edge of the box and he punished them with a good strike from range to make it 3-2. Had it all been in vain?
Thankfully not. Sometimes an unlikely hero emerges and it was a member of Gasp’s initial raft of subs who stepped up in the time of need. With just a minute left, Balerdi headed in the last goal of the game to gift Roma a share of the spoils. Heroic. And breathe.
That genuinely could be an early contender for game of the season in Serie A. Roma will have to sharpen up with the things they’ve learned from it in the coming games, but they showed their resilience today. This is a hungry team, one not willing to give up and with enough of a sting in the tail to make it count. Let’s see how far they can go.
Up Next
Roma hosts Cagliari on Tuesday the 27th.
