With Gian Piero Gasperini preferring to focus on how his team could best Milan on the road, and with Roma fans trolling for bigger prizes (claiming sole possession of first place on the table), the rationalists
among us probably sided with Gasperini. After all, it’s only Round 10 and, as good as finishing the weekend in first place would have felt, it ultimately would have been meaningless—we’re barely a quarter of the way through the season.
But here we are, in the wake of Roma’s 1-0 loss to Milan at the San Siro, and both of us, the optimists and pragmatists alike, leave this match empty-handed. After praising Roma’s away record earlier this weekend, the Giallorossi flew out of the gates like a bat out of hell, firing 10 shots at Milan’s goal in the first 30 minutes.
With Paulo Dybala, Matíás Soulé, and Wesley leading the charge, an early lead seemed inevitable. The issue, however, was the quality of those shots. Despite outshooting Milan 11-2 in the first half hour (and 11-7 for the entire first half), those attempts generated only 0.77 xG against Milan’s 1.23.
Even if advanced stats aren’t your thing, your eyes didn’t deceive you. Even though eight of Roma’s first-half attempts came inside the 18-yard box, none were considered clear-cut chances. And really, aside from Evan Ndicka’s 10th-minute header—which he bounced off the pitch and wide of the mark—and the 17th-minute shot from Dybala that skimmed high and to the right, Roma rarely actually troubled Mike Maignan and the Rossoneri defense.
Still, despite the lack of quality in the final third, Roma played well in the first half, looking like a prototypical Gasperini team: pressing opponents early and often while playing a fast and loose vertical style. And the numbers bear that out. In the first half, not only did Roma reel off 11 shots, but they also completed 11 tackles, winning nearly two-thirds of their attempts, while intercepting nine passes. In a word, Roma harassed Milan every step of the way. But you know where this is going…
Despite thoroughly dominating Milan for most of the first half, Roma fell victim to lightning fast counter attack in the 39th minute
In a three-touch move, Roma’s high line was undressed by Alexis Saelemaekers (who, naturally, would target his former team), Rafael Leao, and, surprisingly, center-back Strahinja Pavlovic. Considering how much effort Roma put in and how many shots they took, this goal completely deflated the Giallorossi.
And whatever hope they had for a quick turnaround in the second half was dashed by Max Allegri’s men, who flipped the script, racing out of the locker room and pinning Roma on their heels, firing six shots at Mile Svilar in the first ten minutes of the new half.
While Roma managed to respond, launching nine more shots at Maignan, aside from a stretched effort by Lorenzo Pellegrini, the Giallorossi once again failed to generate any significant chances in the second half. To use a basketball analogy, Roma was volume shooting tonight, taking long three-pointers rather than spreading the floor, filling the lanes, and targeting corner threes.
Still, despite all those wasted chances, a point was there for the taking. After the Milan wall committed a handball on a Pellegrini free-kick attempt in the 82nd minute, Roma was gifted a lifeline: a Paulo Dybala penalty attempt.
After making his previous 18 penalty attempts in Serie A, Dybala was stonewalled by Maignan, who guessed correctly (and quickly), deflecting La Joya’s low, left-footed shot. And that was all she wrote. Despite an extra 13 minutes of play, Roma failed to create any real chances, let alone a true equalizer.
Final Thoughts
Sure, tonight’s result was disappointing, but let’s keep things in perspective. After 10 rounds of play, Roma is only one point off the league lead, locked in a three-way battle for second place with both Milanese clubs. That isn’t to dismiss concerns about Roma’s struggling attack, but you can’t argue with the results: Roma is doing just enough to make us believe they can end their Champions League drought.
But for the love of god, Gasp—get this attack sorted!
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Roma heads to Scotland on Thursday to face Rangers in the Europa League
