If you prefer to save five minutes of your time and skip down to the comments section, we won’t be offended. You’ve seen this match before, read this review before, and you’ve endured this pain before. With their Champions League lifeline hanging by a thread, Gian Piero Gasperini and Roma had everything to play for today on the shores of picturesque Lake Como. A victory over Cesc Fabregas’s team would have allowed Roma to jump back into fourth place, keeping their Champions League hopes alive for another
week.
However, for the umpteenth time in the past, I don’t know, decade, they fell flat on their face against a top-six rival. This match featured all the hallmarks of a classic Roma breakdown: individual errors, flawed tactics, poor execution, and a clear lack of quality in the run of play. Add to that a spate of injuries that has stripped Roma’s attack bare, and they never stood a chance today.
Still, there was a glimmer of hope early in the match. In the 7th minute, with Como playing a bit too casually out of the back, Stephan El Shaarawy beat Diego Carlos to a loose ball at the edge of the box, resulting in a clear penalty after the Como defender clamped down on El Shaarawy’s ankle.
And a simple swing of the leg, Donyell Malen drew first blood converting the penalty with ease.
With both clubs approaching this match cautiously, it was safe to assume that whoever scored first would park the proverbial bus immediately. And with only two attempts on goal and 37% possession after Malen’s goal, Roma did just that; it wasn’t entertaining, but it was a sensible decision by Gasperini. However, as we know all too well, this non-football approach seldom works in Roma’s favor.
Starting the second half with the same conservative approach, Roma’s low block quickly became unanchored thanks to a couple of clever changes by Fabregas. With the additions of Assane Diao and Tasos Douvikas, Fabregas switched to a more attack-oriented 4-2-3-1 to start the new half. And while it didn’t produce immediate results, Como didn’t have to wait long to hit paydirt.
With their own Champions League dream dying in the light, Como leveled the match with perhaps the most basic play in the sport: a simple ball into the box met by a well-timed run. In this case, Alex Valle set up Douvikas’s 10th goal with a trap-breaking pass into the box, leveling the match and setting up a potentially fraught finish.
Unfortunately, any potential late-match tension was preemptively defused in the 64th minute when Wesley was sent off for accumulated yellows for…this.
You’ll have to dig through the video to see the full accounting here, but suffice to say, it was a soft call. Although there was some incidental hip-to-hip contact here, at no point did Wesley actually send Diao down to the pitch. Sensing the writing on the wall, Gasperini upped the defensive ante, bringing Jan Ziolkowski and Kostas Tsimikas into the match, while removing Malen in an effort to keep him fresh for the Europa League next week.
Como could have done the kind thing and taken Roma out of her misery instantly, but we had to wait another 15 minutes for the other shoe to drop.
While Roma defended this reasonably well and Svilar made the initial save, there wasn’t much they could do to prevent Diego Carlos from capitalizing on the rebound; it literally fell right at his feet. While there was an additional 10 minutes plus stoppage time, Roma didn’t register a single shot on goal and only saw 20% of the ball. Job done, as far as Como was concerned.
Final Thoughts
We can’t completely discount the injuries to Matías Soulé and Paulo Dybala, but surely there was some way Gasperini could have conjured up a better game plan than this. We’ve seen the same scene on repeat for the past two months: When Malen can’t be found, there is no Plan B, no other viable threat in front of the goal. And absent a well-taken setpiece from Lorenzo Pellegrini, Gasperini is up the creek without a paddle.
A year from now, and with more depth in attack, this may not be an issue. But in the here and now, it may cost Roma dearly.
Up Next
Roma hosts Bologna in the second and decisive leg of the Europa League Round of 16 on Thursday
