Thanks to consecutive victories over Bologna and Fiorentina (plus a little help from the table), Gian Piero Gasperini and Roma have thrust themselves back into the Champions League conversation. Entering today’s Round 36 fixture against Parma one point behind 4th-place Juventus and two points ahead of 6th-place Como, Roma had only one objective: victory.
With a starting lineup featuring Matías Soulé, Paulo Dybala, and the league’s hottest striker, Donyell Malen, Roma was well-prepared to repeat last
week’s four-nil shellacking of Fiorentina. While Parma was slightly better on the table than the Viola, with a -18 goal differential, they stood little chance of slowing down Malen and the Giallorossi.
While this match may have lacked the fireworks of last week’s four-nil victory, Roma seemed poised to cruise to another three points after Dybala and Malen combined to take the lead in the 22nd minute.
After such a fluid goal, featuring a first-time assist from Dybala and an expertly placed finish by Malen, the smart money suggested Roma would walk away winners without breaking a sweat. And while they weren’t able to compound Parma’s misery, they kept the Crusaders under their thumb, controlling the rest of the half and heading into the break with a one-goal lead.
But the ensuing 45 minutes were among the craziest we’ve seen in several years. While another laugher wasn’t in store, Roma seemed poised to double their tally, park the bus, and head home with three points; a relatively safe assumption that was rendered moot almost immediately.
Thanks to an intoxicating mix of careless passing, questionable effort, and lax defending, Roma surrendered an equalizer a mere 90 seconds (give or take) into the second half. After coughing up the ball in midfield, Parma immediately tilted the table, leveling the match with a two-touch move that left Roma’s defense slack-jawed as Gabriel Strefezza beat Mile Svilar at the left post.
There wasn’t an immediate sense of danger here, but with their already faint Champions League hopes hanging in the balance, Roma Happened struck cruelly and decisively in the 87th minute. While this goal didn’t stem from a structural flaw in Roma’s defense, they were nevertheless unlocked by a well-placed chipped ball and some clever footwork from Mandela Keita, who temporarily doomed Roma to the Conference League with his first goal of the season.
With three minutes left to play and their Champions League dreams on ice, the Romaverse was on the verge of a collective meltdown, with more ALL CAPS posts than you could shake a stick at. But then something wonderful, something divine happened. Or should we say, Devyne?
With so many of us writing off Roma’s latest collapse as another sign the club is cursed, the Dutch defender scored a seemingly innocuous yet remarkable goal, beating multiple Parma defenders to a loose ball at the edge of the box and somehow lashing it past Suzuki at the opposite post. This was an incredible effort from Rensch, entirely worthy of our admiration, but it would have been little more than a footnote in a dispiriting draw.
Fortunately for us, Rensch didn’t relent, using every ounce of his strength to escape the defense and settle a looping cross. Thanks to his efforts, Rensch more or less baited the defense into slinging him down the ground, winning an improbable penalty in the 98th minute, leaving it to his countryman to decide Roma’s fate.
And with one might swing of his leg, Malen brought Roma’s Champions League dreams back from the brink, beating Suzuki in the upper left corner as a chorus of jeers descended from every corner of the Ennio Tardini.
Final Thoughts
We’ve seen plenty of Roma Happened moments over the years, instances where the club’s bad luck dooms them to every manner of ignominious defeat, but today’s match flipped that axiom on its head. This was one of the rare moments where a stunning turn of events actually worked in Roma’s favor…imagine that!
Up Next
Roma hosts Lazio in one of the most consequential derbies in years next Sunday.
