A.S Roma 1 Gent 1FT
Following back-to-back wins against gent last Thursday in a 4-0 victory against Lecce over the weekend Roma has got their confidence and momentum back as they looked for an opportunity to punch their ticket into the Round of 16 with the Europa League second-leg. In the first matchup against gent in Rome at the Stadio Olimpico despite not playing particularly well Roma ended up getting a 1-0 victory while not conceding any away goals which in the end proved to be really important. Despite that, there was only one goal in it and Gent had a chance to get back into it. It was still a very open match with both still in contention qualifying. This time we were in Belgium as the away atmosphere would create it sets of challenges for Roma who looked to try to pull away in the matchup. Roma started early with Kolarov hitting the crossbar but outside of that the Belgium side was ready to do whatever it takes to get through to the next round. It was a back-and-forth battle even though the home side ended up creating a lot more opportunities and were the better team for at least a good portion of the match it was a tense atmosphere and a very closely contested match. Pau Lopez again was spectacular but eventually, the Belgium side would breakthrough to put things back on level terms when Jonathan David scored to give a gent a deserving 1-0 lead. Roma needed an away goal to really push them ahead. Luckily Justin kluivert would Supply them with exactly that. the athletic Dutchman gave Roma the away goal that they were looking for. Justin kluivert beats the keeper to equalize making it 1-1. However, Roma held a 2-1 lead with an away goal meaning the home side was going to have to score two goals to go through. Gent continued to come forward and that try to pry themselves the back into it they came out firing but once again wasted chances did play their part their inability to get through. In the second half, both teams had chances Gent & Roma fought for goals as the second half continued. Gent made adjustments throughout the game but it did not seem to work as they found it difficult getting past Pau Lopez wasted way too many chances in front of goal as they played with panic as time was running out on their season in this competition. They created so much but got so little in return behind the goalkeeping and defense Roma was managed to get through. Gent had their opportunities but they just wasted too many of them as time ran out on their season. Justin kluivert away goal seemed to be the difference as Roma punched their ticket into the Round of 16 after a 1-1 draw winning 2-1 on aggregate thanks to goals from Justin kluivert tonight and Carles Perez Paulo Fonseca leads a Roma team forward as the Europa League Journey continues after knocking out Gent in Belgium.
Paulo Fonseca as expected it sticks with the 4-2-3-1 formation with his team having an opportunity to get through to the round of 16 after back-to-back victories. In goal as always would be the Spaniard Pau Lopez. The backline will be very similar to the victory over the weekend. At left-back would be Alex Kolarov, beside him would be the center back Partnership of Gianluca Mancini and Chris Smalling. Then patrolling the right-back Position will be Leonardo Spinazzola a return to the starting lineup for this match. There be no change in the defensive Midfield as a Bryan Cristante and Jordan Veretout continue to be paired together while Diawara continues to recover from injury. In the central part of the attacking Midfield would be henrikh Mkhitaryan as he comes in for Lorenzo Pellegrini who has not played well and is dealing with a minor injury that he suffered in the win on Sunday. On the left-wing returning to the starting lineup would be Justin kluivert who could play a vital role in this matchup. Then on the opposite side on the right-wing would be Carles Perez the man who scored the only goal in this matchup so far. Then up front, as the main Striker would be Edin Dzeko as the Bosnian recently became the 6th highest score in club history looking to extend that in a match like this. Then on the bench, Roma would have Diego Perotti Gonzalo Villar and others available if needed.
After preparations and predictions, the match was just about to get underway in Belgium in the Europa League round of 32 a winner-take-all game at stake with a round of 16 within reach for both teams. Roma did not play very well during the first leg but got their results and this game would look more or less the same as the first time around. Roma played a little bit better in the early parts of the game but once again it was proving to be a battle. In the first minute of the game, Roma nearly scored as henrikh Mkhitaryan set up Kolarov on the side of the Box. The Serbian struck the post in the opening minute giving Roma that confidence and momentum in the early part of the game. Despite this, it didn’t turn out to be a momentum shifter as the home side really showed their abilities in the early goings of the game and throughout the first half. It was similar to the first game in some respects as the chances were limited it was possession football at least in the early part of the game. After Roma’s early chance gent put themselves in position to get in front on numerous occasions. Roman Beezus tries to strike from distance but Paul Lopez was there to deny him. A little bit later he put his head through a corner kick but missed the target. Despite Roma having an early chance, it did appear that Gent had the momentum. Gent would ultimately get the Breakthrough in the 25th minute as a Jonathan David who went missing in the previous match stuck the ball into the back of the net to give a gent a 1-0 lead this would break the Cup tie at 1-1. Gent had been the better team up to that point and they deserved that goal that put them in front. However, that would not last very long just a few minutes later and the 29th minute Justin kluivert delivered a dagger. As henrikh Mkhitaryan supplied a ball inside to the young Dutchman. Justin kluivert from the center of the box found the bottom corner of the net to get the equalizer. It would give Roma a 2-1 lead and an away goal that could prove to be really important. Jonathan David trying to make an immediate response just minutes later but his shot from close-ended up missing. late in the first half, Roma got close to a second when edin Dzeko strike came close coming off a corner. In the closing moments of the first half, Igor header misfired ending the first half. It wasn’t the best first-half but Roma got the away goal that could be important as it ended 1-1 after 45 minutes.
Justin kluivert scores a crucial away goal that pushes Roma back and front
Roma gets that away goal to end the first half but they would have work to do to finish off an ambitious Belgium side that was up for the challenge. Roma started to attack with much more courage and consistency in the early parts of the second half as they were looking to turn the game on its head with the possibility of putting the game away with another goal. Henrikh Mkhitaryan missed from the side of the box to start the second half. That would only follow by an edin Dzeko strike that was just off slightly. Despite missing the first two attempts of the second half they were coming forward with much more aggression and we’re getting opportunities to get another away goal. However, with that being said, Jonathan David was in form as he continued to try to drive his team. As the Canadian International had his strike saved by Paul Lopez. The Belgian side continued to come forward but their wasteful finishing from the first match carried over as they missed several chances within minutes of each other. Afterwards, they would make two changes from their bench to try to infuse some energy that they seem to be lacking. A few minutes later Roma would make their first change as Davie Santon came in at for Leonardo Spinazzola. 2 minutes later Gent wasted yet another chance from outside the box as Roma still seem to have control of the tie. Gent, we’re fighting for their lives in this competition. Pau Lopez was called into action to deny Vadis with about 15 minutes ago the Spaniard made the save as Roma got closer to the finish line. A minute later Sven Kums Nest from outside the box as wasted chances continued to be a problem in the game. Roma would go to the bench for the second time to try to solidify the results as they brought in Federico Fazio for Jordan’s veretout. Roma tries to see out the victory late in the match. Even though gent had a lot of opportunities they weren’t taking advantage of them. It was another miss from the hosts. Less than 10 minutes remaining Roma made their final change of the evening. As Gonzalo Villar came in to replace Carles Perez. Edin Dzeko nearly killed off the game as the Bosnian put his head through as Justin kluivert cross that misfired. With about 1-minute remaining Vadis tried to give the Belgium side some false hope as Pau Lopez denied him twice in the89th and 90th minute. Deep in stoppage time Roma nearly killed off it off as edin Dzeko struck from 35 yards out trying to keep the goalkeeper out of position narrowly missing As Time expired at AA gent Stadium Roma hold on getting that important away goal from Justin kluivert as Paulo Fonseca takes Roma into the round of 16 after a 1-1 draw in Belgium.
That’s all she wrote as Roma are headed to the round of 16
Roma is through to the round of 16 after a 1-1 draw with Gent in Belgium. Justin kluivert scored the away-goal that makes the difference as their European Journey continues in the Europa League. After earning a 1-0 victory at the Stadio Olimpico Roma had to go to Belgium to face Gent in front of their home fans in what was a hostile environment but one Roma was able to thrive under. Gent was the better team for at least parts of the game. They didn’t dominate Roma the way they did the first time around but nonetheless, it wasn’t the same performance we saw from them. Jonathan David was neutralized in the first matchup he was able to play a little bit more freely and made the difference for his team even though he came up short. It was another fantastic display defensively after being erratic the last couple of weeks they have finally got their defensive issues taken care of. In Roma’s last three games they have only conceded one goal. Roma wasn’t at their best but they did a good enough job to get to the end of the game and punch their ticket into the round of 16. The away goal for Roma and the lack of an away goal for dent played the biggest difference in the match. Much like in the first game Gent created a lot of opportunities however they wasted far too many chances which was the case in the first match as well. Pau Lopez and the defense did a really good job of limiting legitimate opportunities. Even though they accumulated a lot of shots and they were in control at certain points in the game they didn’t do what was necessary for front of the goal to get to the end of the game. It did not take them very long to get back into it. Justin kluivert winning goal will just occur 4 minutes after Roma had conceded. This put Roma through to the next round. You see the qualities of the Gent with the way they came forward and attacked but equally, their lack of a clinical finishing performance in front of goal was a big reason why they failed to come through. Roma could have played a lot better and probably should have killed off the game much earlier but none the less they advance. It is unclear who they will play at this moment but it will be a bigger challenge than the one they’ve just faced. They have to work on improving their execution just a little bit but it was a much better performance than what we have seen last week. Roma certainly has things to work on but overall I think Roma should be happy with the result and the performance. Their defense is back to playing At the high level we have seen from this team at many points during the season. the man-of-the-match goes to Justin kluivert even though Paul Lopez came up with some big saves in big moments & ultimately prevented another goal from finding the back the net. Justin kluivert goal wins it Without the away-goal this is a different situation a lot of credit also must go to Carles Perez from the first match scoring the goal that allowed them to get into this position. Defensively they did well in both matches even though there’s room for improvement it was a collective performance from the team they will improve and get better as this competition continues as Paulo Fonseca gets his first knockout stage Victory as Roma are on the round of 16 it will get even more difficult from here but Roma have to like where they are. With some adjustments and changes, this team could go on a big run in this competition. The goal is to win the Europa League and they have the team to do that the campaign continues after winning 2-1 on Aggerate as they get the result they needed in Belgium
Man of the match: Justin Kluivert
Everything Roma 