Ordinarily, when Roma and Juventus square off, it’s the Giallorossi who gaze longingly from 5th or 6th place (or worse), desperate to join Italy’s elite. However, thanks to a recent reversal of fortunes, Gian Piero Gasperini and the Giallorossi held the edge in today’s Round 27 fixture at the Stadio Olimpico. With a four-point lead over Luciano Spalletti’s side, a victory today would have put the capital club seven points clear of the Old Lady and kept them level on points with third-place Napoli.
For 78 minutes, Roma was poised to do exactly that. With both sides trudging through a dreary first half that, while producing a combined 10 attempts on goal, lacked any clear-cut chances, portending a tense finish. But Wesley França provided a bit of sizzle before the halftime whistle, curling this beauty into the far corner, bending the ball just out of Mattia Perin’s reach to put Roma up 1-0.
Roma’s halftime joy was short-lived, however, as Juve equalized in the 47th minute on a sensational volley from Francisco Conceição. Seriously, as much as we collectively loathe Juventus, you can’t hate on this—though we can hate on Bryan Cristante’s poor play in midfield that eventually led to this free kick.
Despite having the wind taken out of their sails, Roma didn’t waste time responding. After several minutes of back-and-forth play in midfield, the Giallorossi regained the lead thanks to another well-taken corner from Lorenzo Pellegrini. Rather than sending an outswinger into the middle of the area, Pellegrini and his fellow Roma, Niccolo Pisilli, played a short corner. After receiving the ball back from Pisilli, Pellegrini found Evan Ndicka on the left edge of the 18, and with a man draped over his back, the Ivorian scored his second league goal in as many weeks.
Still, as we know all too well, no lead is safe against Juventus, so it was reassuring to see Roma continue pressing in the final third. However, in a somewhat ironic twist, Roma padded their lead not in the box but from well beyond the midfield stripe. While we can quibble about Manu Koné’s finishing, there’s no denying the Frenchman can play a beautiful forward pass, and he padded Roma’s lead with an absolute dime in the 65th minute, catching Donyell Malen in stride for the club’s third goal.
With 25 minutes remaining plus stoppage time, the odds favored Roma, but since when has logic (or fortune) ever prevailed when they face Juventus? While they did well to stymie Juve for the next 10 minutes or so, Roma once again capitulated to the Old Lady in agonizing fashion.
Roma Happened Moment #1
Jeremie Boga is a fine player, one connected with Roma several times over the years, but there’s no denying the sinister hand of Roma Happened on this goal. Look no further than the ball caroming off Kenan Yildiz’s head, falling at the ideal height for the Ivorian winger to volley it home—of course, it didn’t help that he was unmarked.
But hey, that’s what insurance goals are for, right? Surely Malen’s goal would stand up for the final 12 minutes of the match, right? There was no way Roma would Roma this again, was there?
Roma Happened Moment #2
After being on the pitch for all of 120 seconds, Federico Gatti somehow slipped behind Celik and Ndicka, slotting home a Weston McKennie redirection, who himself bested Koné and Daniele Ghilardi in the air, to suck the life out of the Stadio Olimpico at the death.
Final Thoughts
As much as this match was about padding Roma’s lead over Juvenuts, they still have a four-point lead over their historical nemesis. No, the real opportunity cost here was not going five points clear of 5th-place Como, who seem destined to be the latest Italian club to come out of nowhere and qualify for the Champions League, following in the footsteps of Gasperini’s original Atalanta clubs and Bologna’s recent rise to prominence.
From poor defending, careless passing, late substitutions, long-standing inferiority complexes to a phantom four minutes of stoppage time, this was easily the most Roma Happened match we’ve experienced over the past few seasons.
All Roma can really do is lick their wounds and move on. There are 11 matches remaining and 11 chances to get it right; any slip-up and their seven-year Champions League drought will carry on.
Up Next
Roma faces Genoa on the road next Sunday.
