As Kermit the Frog once famously sang, it’s not easy being green. And that saying was put to the test today in Sassuolo in a literal battle of the greens. Clad in their green and white third kit, Roma
faced the Nervoderi on the road in what is becoming an all-too-familiar feeling in these early fixtures: a somewhat sluggish game where Roma clings to a one-goal lead until the bitter end. And, apropos of nothing, Kermit also said he’d rather be red, yellow, or gold — clearly, he didn’t have the Giallorossi experience in mind when he (or Jim Henson) wrote that song.
Muppets aside, it was business as usual for Roma: frustrating tactics, misplaced passes, and big chances wasted. Fortunately, as they’ve done so often this season, those sins were forgiven thanks to steady defending and a timely goal. With Artem Dovbyk and Evan Ferguson remaining in Gasperini’s doghouse, Paulo Dybala once again led the line for Roma today, while Neil El Aynaoui replaced Matías Soulé in the starting eleven.
Whether they deployed a striker or not, Roma was on the back foot in the early stages of this match. Mile Svilar faced four shots in the first seven minutes, including a dangerous effort by Domenico Berardi that was ultimately called offside, while Svilar skillfully parried Alieu Fadera’s strike in the seventh minute. Still, Roma’s tendency for slow starts was evident this afternoon, and without a true focal point in attack, there was no clear way out of this mess.
However, thanks to a bit of quick thinking from Paulo Dybala, Roma seized the initiative in the 16th minute:
At first glance, this appeared to be your typical put-back goal, but it was actually a well-coordinated three-touch team move. After intercepting the ball in midfield, Evan Dicka carried it forward before laying it off to Dybala, who then found Bryan Cristante sprinting into the box. Although Dybala did capitalize on the rebound, take a closer and you’ll appreciate the degree of difficulty here: the ball was drifting away as Dybala struck it with his weaker foot, beating Arijanet Muric at the far post.
Roma’s backline kept Sassuolo bottled up for the remainder of the first half, thanks largely to an impressive effort from Manu Koné, who snuffed a Sebastian Walukiewicz attempt in the 26th minute. And with Kristian Thortsvedt flubbing a header on the ensuing corner, Roma dodged a bullet before the break.
The second half saw a combined 14 attempts on goal, as Sassuolo desperately chased an equalizer while Roma tried and failed to pad their lead. Though with Lorenzo Pellegrini pinging the ball off the upright in the 67th minute and Wesley missing three attempts late in the second half, including two that qualified as ‘big chances’, Roma could have avoided a lot of stress and anxiety down the stretch.
Despite the last-minute line-up tweaks and another frustrating attacking performance, Roma walked away winners, joining Napoli at the top of the Serie A table with 18 points from eight matches.
Final Thoughts
While the anemic attack remains a cause for concern, the results are undisputed. Thanks to another stellar performance from Mile Svilar, Evan Ndicka, and Gianluca Mancini, Roma’s defense won the day, stymying an admittedly struggling Sassuolo defense to earn their fifth clean-sheet victory of the season. Roma may be able to rely on this crutch against Parma next weekend, but with AC Milan and Napoli looming next month, Gasperini has to do something to inspire his struggling strikers.
Up Next
Roma host Parma on Wednesday
