Hey! How about that?! For the first time in a month, Roma put the ball in the back of the net more than her opponent! By defeating the other Giallorossi yesterday 1-0 at a packed Stadio Olimpico, Roma exorcised their March demons, edging past 18th-placed Lecce thanks to an early second-half goal from Robinio Vaz.
And sure, it wasn’t the resounding victory we hoped for, but after 120 grueling minutes against Bologna in the Europa League Round of 16 on Thursday, along with the usual string of injuries,
it was probably the best Gasperini’s group could do given the circumstances. With a noticeably quicker tempo and sense of urgency, Roma generated 14 shots on goal while maintaining 67% possession; things that are easier to accomplish when playing Lecce rather than Como, but sometimes you just have to enjoy the little victories.
Yesterday’s win allowed Roma to pull even on points (54) with 5th-place Juventus, who each remain three points behind Cesc Fabregas and Como. With no fixtures remaining against either club, Roma will be doing plenty of table watching over the next two months.
But before we go down that well, let’s hand out some halos and sharpen our pitchforks.
The Sinners
Niccolo Pisilli
While the young Roman was busy roaming the midfield last night, taking 69 touches and leaving an impressive heatmap in his wake, he was imprecise and impulsive while doing so: 1/8 on dribble attempts, 1/5 on long passes, and 1/13 on duels, all while losing possession 22 times, second only to Lorenzo Pellegrini.
But hey, Roma won, so we won’t sweat it; young players are prone to bouts of inconsistency. Besides, after making the cut for Gennaro Gattuso’s Italy squad for the upcoming World Cup playoffs, he’s got more important things to worry about.
The Saints
Robinio Vaz
After spending the first several weeks of his Roma tenure mostly on the bench, Vaz has capitalized on Roma’s injury crisis up front, getting significant minutes in his last four matches. Yesterday, his patience and persistence paid off. Coming into the game in the 51st minute, Vaz immediately rewarded Gasperini’s seemingly reluctant faith in the 19-year-old Frenchman by scoring the only goal in the 57th minute, pinging a header off the pitch and past Wladimiro Falcone.
He certainly has the look of a Gasperini forward, so let’s hope he gets an extended look down the stretch.
Mario Hermoso
Next up is the man who set up Vaz’s first Roma goal. One of many Roma players beset by injuries this season, Hermoso delivered arguably his best performance of the year. Besides assisting Vaz’s goal, Hermoso recorded a game-high 101 touches, played 10 passes into the final third, and led the club with six defensive actions, none more important than this:
Hermoso’s 73rd-minute denial of Konan N’Dri saved Roma’s bacon, not to mention two weeks’ worth of drama that surely would have ensued had Roma lost this match.
Stuck In Between
Some bad, some good, or just non-descript. Here are this weeks SIBs!
Lorenzo Pellegrini
On the positive side, Pellegrini created four chances in this match while hitting on three of six corners, but aside from that, he was off the mark more often than not. In 80 minutes, Larry Pilgrims completed only 69% of his passes and missed several juicy openings by spraying his forward passes wide of the mark, potentially costing Roma multiple scoring chances.
Bryan Cristante
In many respects, this was a typical Cristante performance: plenty of positive statistics to wax poetically about with little by way of actual results. He was like an oat bran muffin yesterday; healthy and satisfying enough, but not exactly worth waking up for.
Evan Ndicka
With the Ivorian defender on an attacking tear lately, scoring goals in three consecutive league matches, you weren’t alone in thinking that his 29th-minute header was destined to score. Alas, it sailed over the bar, but Ndicka soared through the air, giving it one hell of a whack. Outside of that miss, Ndicka was quiet but steady at the back, winning 75% of his duels and completing 92% of his passes.
So, what do you think? Did we miss anyone, good, bad or otherwise?
