A.S Roma 2 Sampdoria 1FT
Following a three-month break due to the Coronavirus Italian football finally returned. After games over the last couple of days, Roma has been patiently waiting to return to action this season. Sampdoria would make the trip to the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. They were no fans in the stands but nonetheless, this was a very important match. Sampdoria looks to find a way out of the danger zone meanwhile Roma wants to keep a distance between themselves and Napoli. A moment of silence started the game to all the people that lost their lives during the coronavirus. In addition to this Roma wore black lives matter armbands and Sampdoria did the same. Roma looked really strong in the opening minutes especially in the attack but defensively it wasn’t a strong performance by the Romans whatsoever. An erratic back pass from Diawara allowed Manolo Gabbiadini to Sampdoria a surprising 1-0 lead. Roma continues to try to get back it looks like the moment had come when Jordan veretout struck from deep but the goal was taken away in what was an absurd decision the score remained the same. Sampdoria took a lead into the second half. In the second half, Roma continues to look a little rusty but eventually, their moment would come when Lorenzo Pellegrini enters the match edin Dzeko and the midfielder connected. Dzeko scored as Roma back into the game. Then late on with less than 10 minutes to go Bryan Cristante connected with edin Dzeko as he scores his brace as he moves into to fifth on the all-time scoring his 104th Roma goal. Edin Dzeko’s second-half makes the difference as his two goals help Roma come from behind to earn a 2-1 victory in Serie A return.
Paulo Fonseca set up his team out of the usual 4-2-3-1 formation. It would be a very different looking team for what we have seen for the most part this season. With Pau Lopez still out with injury Roma start Antonio Mirante in goal. As lect back would be the Serbian, Alex Kolarov. Beside him would be the center-back partnership of Chris Smalling, and Ibañez who makes his first Roma start since moving in January from Atalanta. Then filling out the backline at right-back would be Bruno Peres. In the defensive Midfield, we would see the usual paring of Adamo Diawara and Jordan veretout. In a bit of a surprise, Javier Pastore starts in central Midfield. On the left-wing would be Henrik Mkhitaryan then on the right-wing would be Carlos Perez. Upfront as the main Striker would be the one and only edin Dzeko. Roma would have options Off the Bench with the likes of Bryan cristante Justin kluivert Gianluca Mancini and others. Romo will be allowed 5 substitutions due to the current situation.
After preparations and predictions, the match was just about to get underway in Rome. It had been months since we have had Italian football and even though the Stadio Olimpico was empty we finally had football again in the Eternal City. Roma and Sampdoria played out a goalless draw in their previous meeting as both teams were in need of points ahead of this match. Roma looked dangerous in the early parts of the game before things started to collapse. Edin Dzeko tried to put Roma in the lead in the early Goings connecting on a header coming from a Jordan veretout cross. Unfortunately for Roma Sampdoria was able to make the save. edin Dzeko came through again a few minutes later but the Bosnian’s strike was saved in the bottom corner. Roma did look sloppy and a little bit disorganized in the opening parts of the match but still look dangerous coming forward they have been one of the best counter-attacking teams in the league this season. It seemed like everything was going and Roma’s way as they continued to try to break down the Sampdoria backline. Carlos Perez saw his strike from outside the box save and Mkhitaryan header from close range also denied. Everything seemed to be going around this way until Diawara made a game-changing mistake supplying a horrible back pass to the defense ended up with
Manolo Gabbiadini going around the keeper placing the ball into the back of the net to give Sampdoria is surprising 1-0 lead in the 11th minute. Roma started to break down they were not playing with a lot of momentum and confidence & Sampdoria came forward pretty frequently. Some organizational issues in the backline and they just seemed to have a little bit rust after having not played together in months. However, Roma continued to look dangerous on the counter-attack despite the issues they had in other areas. Kolarov missed from a set-piece situation as Roma continue to try to tip away. Strikes from Manolo Gabbiadini and Linetty kept the momentum moving with Sampdoria. Henrikh Mkhitaryan and edin Dzeko were both denied by the goalkeeper as they kept pushing. Meanwhile, Antonio Mirante denied several Sampdoria attempts before it looked like Roma got themselves back into the game. In the 32nd minute, Carlos Perez cut through the defense before the ball was cleared out to land at the feet of Jordan veretout who hit disgusting strike into the top corner to equalize. Unfortunately, the referee took the goal away for an alleged handball. In opening minutes of the game, Sampdoria had an exact replica of the handball and it was not called yet when Roma equalized there was a significant unbalanced review of the decisions by the referee. The score stayed at just a one-goal deficit after the opening 45 minutes it was 1-0 Sampdoria thanks to
Manolo Gabbiadini but the first half leaves Roma with a bitter taste after their equalizer was wrongfully disallowed.
Despite being strong going forward and a disallowed goal Samp held the lead after 45 minutes.
The decision to disallow the Jordan veretout goal was obviously atrocious however Roma did not play their best during the opening 45 minutes A lot of it came down to very poor defending and the defensive Midfield was often collapsing. It was nerve-wracking every time Diawara completed a pass it looked like he wasn’t ready to start this game. With all that being said I still had the confidence that Roma would get it together. Roma still had 45 minutes to undo the poor performance in the first half. In the attack they still were consistent. Jordan veretout saw his shot from outside the box saved. He was unable to create the masterful strike from the first half that didn’t count. Sampdoria for the most part I thought at many points was in control during the first half in the second half things start to change. They drifted slowly it took some time for Roma to fully feel inside of their momentum. Sampdoria had an excellent plan for Edin Dzeko and it worked to perfection in the first half in the second half the big Bosnian started to become a problem. He continued to cause havoc in dangerous areas not only going forward but controlling the game as well as passing that opened up the attack for Roma. Sampdoria still we’re trying to trap Roma. Sampdoria came forward occasionally but they didn’t provide much. In 61st minute the Outlook of the game was about change. Roma goes to the bench and makes three changes. Under the new rules of the pandemic, teams are allowed 5 substitutions. Davey zappacosta, Lorenzo Pellegrini, and Bryan cristante came in for Bruno Peres Javier Pastore and Diawara. The correct adjustments for Fonseca especially bringing in Pellegrini and cristante which were something they were missing in the game up to that point. prior to the changes being made Mkhitaryan came close and it seemed like Roma was picking up the momentum they didn’t have the confidence they needed but they were starting to feel more comfortable they weren’t rushing things they were very fluid. Shortly after the changes, Roma was nearly there as Kolarov hit the post on a blistering free-kick. Then in the 64th minute, Roma got themselves back into it. Lorenzo Pellegrini did an exceptional job of displaying the vision as he picked out a perfect pass for edin Dzeko in the Box. the Bosnian hit the ball out of the air into the roof of the net Roma levels the scores. It would be Dzeko’s 16th goal of the season. Shortly after Cengiz came in for Carlos Peres he had a very productive evening. Roma was racing against the clock as they had less than 10 minutes to find a winner. Following Kolarov misfiring on a free-kick. sampdoria continued to misfire in front of goal. Roma had the momentum and we in control it was going to happen in a matter of time. In the 85th minute, Roma gets their moment Bryan cristante mirrored Francesco Totti launching a deep pass from the center of the pitch Landing in the box at the feet of edin Dzeko who slotted the ball into the bottom corner getting his brace as he gave a Roma a 2-1 lead it would be his 17th goal of the season and his 104th Roma goal which puts in as the fifth highest goal scorer in club history. edin Dzeko shows truly what kind of weapon he can be even at 34 years old. However, the pass from Bryan cristante was just outstanding. Putting edin Dzeko in Perfect Space to give Roma the go-ahead goal. sampdoria desperately try to get back in the game with several late chances in stoppage time but the defense who had struggled all need evening saw the game out as Roma come from behind to beat Sampdoria collecting all three points thanks to an edin Dzeko brace that makes the difference. they create just a little bit more separation from Napoli as they now have a six-point Gap Roma will return to action on Sunday as they prepare to take on AC Milan. Paulo Fonseca leads Roma to three points at the Stadio Olimpico beating Sampdoria in the season series as well as winning their third game on the bounce.
The Edin Dzeko show leads second-half Charge in victory as he makes history once again
Roma picks up a massive three points after having that played over the last several months due to the coronavirus. In the restart of Serie A they get the points they were looking for but they didn’t come easy and there are several things to look at throughout this game that may have contributed to the results. In the first half, Roma had a hard time dealing with Sampdoria’s formation who kept edin Dzeko controlled for at least the opening 45 minutes. A mistake allowed Sampdoria in the lead when it probably shouldn’t have happened. Diawara with clearly not ready to play and it was an erratic performance from him. Sampdoria had control in the first half but found it difficult to maintain it. They had only minimal opportunities in the second half of the game. Roma struggled and they were trapped by the way Sampdoria was playing them. However, when Bryan cristante and Lorenzo Pellegrini entered the game Roma got the control back. It was a strange starting lineup to begin with Javier Pastore being involved. Once Lorenzo Pellegrini and Bryan cristante were involved in the action Roma had the momentum and I kept driving it. However, despite this Roma did not equalize until Midway through the second half. Lorenzo Pellegrini ended up connecting with edin Dzeko to score the equalizer and then again from a Wonder Ball from Bryan cristante as the Bosnian score twice really separating the difference in the match. Edin Dzeko is my man of the match after a superb second-half scoring his first brace in quite some time. However, I thought Carlos Perez showed some real promise and optimism as Roma have something truly to be excited about with this kid. In the first half, Jordan Vertout had a Wonder strike that was wrongly disallowed Rome was able to adapt coming from behind to earn a massive three points. Roma was not their best today it wasn’t the pretty performance they got the points and they still looked dangerous coming forward. Defensively Roma has much improved since last season but tonight it really was the downfall its something that needs to be addressed before they take on AC Milan. The defensive Midfield collapsed getting little to no help to the backline Outside of the defensive issues I thought Roma played pretty well throughout. If Roma can take the energy that they had in the second half take that momentum into Sunday’s game Roma can continue the Run of form as they have won three consecutive games. They now have a six-point cushion between themselves in Napoli. They play Milan on Sunday and then Udin next Wednesday before they have a vital battle against Napoli. If results go right over the next couple weeks Roma may not be in the Champions League this season but they will solidify their fifth position in the table. It wasn’t the performance Roma wanted but they got the job done in a match that showed true character and determination to come back deep in the second half to turn around all the mistakes made in the opening half of the match. Certainly, things need to be improved but they’re more positives than negatives as Roma keep moving.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Edin Dzeko
Everything Roma 