A.S Roma 1 Ludogorets 2
After the humiliation Roma suffered in Udine, Roma would look to bounce back as they would head to the road in the depth of Bulgaria as the Europa League kicked off. Jose Mourinho is the owner of five European trophies and is looking to win back-to-back European titles as he did with Porto when he captured the Champions League and Europa League in back-to-back seasons. The Roman manager is now looking to add another Europa League after taking the conference League last season. Ludogorets at home in a difficult environment for the opposition. Looking to add to Roma’s misery from just a few days earlier. The environment and the pitch potentially was going to be difficult given it appeared not to be up to standard for a European match. Genuinely one of the worst pitches I’ve seen in European football. Nonetheless, Roma had a job to do. Come here and leave with the points to avoid more embarrassment. The match got kicked off in Bulgaria as the European adventure began.
Although Roma, we’re going to have to deal with some unideal circumstances with the pitch. They got off to a promising start. As expected, they controlled the run of play, and we’re looking to get on the front foot As soon as possible. Roma managed to win an early corner as it was whipped in by Lorenzo Pellegrini. Bryan Cristante gets his head on the end of it but couldn’t capitalize despite getting off to a strong start. Coming off another corner and not long after. Lorenzo Pellegrini blasted a strike from outside the box after being put through by Nemanja Matic. The Roman Captain pushed the pressure early in Bulgaria. The pitch itself, as I said, offered various different obstacles. Even though Roma was dominating and was in complete control, the chances weren’t coming as freely as you would expect. The environment and the grass really did play a role in the pace. The game was played. Late in the first half, Roma managed to put in a couple more chances building on the momentum. Lorenzo Pellegrini had a strike blocked from inside the box. Before hitting from inside immediately after the initial block, The keeper collected. Mancini nearly offered some life coming off another corner. The veteran defender put his head through the cross, hitting the post. The closest to an opener that we had seen thus far. Then a few minutes later, Lorenzo Pellegrini had another go at it, but the result remained unchanged as it was a goalless draw in treacherous Bulgaria.
Roma definitely the better of the two sides. After 45 minutes. They were in control and dominating the game but breaking it down was difficult. I don’t mean to continue to bring it up, but the environment in which they had to endure was difficult in terms of creating high-quality chances. The best of the chances from the first half was Mancini hitting the post. Nothing to be concerned about as of yet, but these games can be tricky, especially on uncomfortable ground. Roma, still, was playing reasonably well throughout. Just needed to find a way to break through. Early in the second half. Paolo Dybala shows his playmaking ability by putting through Lorenzo Pellegrini. However, a failure to launch in front of the goal from the Roman Captain probably should have done better. The Bulgarians replied, finally registering a shot as Bernard fired wide, coming off a corner. There still wasn’t a lot of pressure being upheld by the Bulgarian side, but in games like this, it can be dangerous, especially if Roma doesn’t take care of their chances. We have seen games when teams come out of nowhere being dominated and take advantage of limited chances. Roma doesn’t want to live in that reality. Roma kept looking for that goal, though. A corner whipped in from Palo Dybala Mancini, getting on the end of it but unable to steer at home. Then just moments later. Paulo Dybala shows his quality again as he is saved from close range after doing a great job of getting themselves into a Danish position. It’s still such a blessing that Paolo Dybala is on Roma. Even in the down moments of this Roman season, the Argentine has shown some unbelievable qualities already. It is something Roma hasn’t had in a while. Belotti then connects with Dybala on a headed pass, but once again, a lack of a finishing touch in front of goal. The Bulgarian side managed to mustard their first chance on goal. But Roma’s new keeper survives with a save. Roma, we’re getting into the dangerous parts of the game. shomurodov and Leo spinazzola comes in for the giallorossi. Unfortunately, the very thing Rome was trying to avoid occurred. In the 72nd minute, on the mutually the Bulgarian’s first chance of the game Cauldy tricks the Roman goalkeeper as he cuts into the box and hits a strike into the bottom corner as the Bulgarians take a shocking 1–0 lead. Bove, Volpoto, and Camara were All brought in for a late Serge. Lorenzo Pellegrini denied it from outside the box before missing the mark a few minutes later again. Time was running out, Just in time to potentially be rescued. In the 86th minute, Lorenzo Pellegrini fines shomurodov, converting in front of the goal to get the equalizer. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t last long. 2 minutes later, in the 88th minute, the Bulgarians won it. A confusing and demeaning performance as Roma dominates the entire game, but a lack of finishing touch hounds them as the Bulgarians score on two of the three shots on goal, a challenging defeat in a difficult environment. Roma plays well enough to get the points, but opportunistic vibes from the Bulgarians settle it as Roma failed to start off their European adventure on the right foot.
It is difficult to understand exactly what is happening here over the last two games dealing with back-to-back unacceptable results. They got absolutely manhandled and swallowed by Udine. They have been ripped apart from limb to limb. It was erratic and truly embarrassing. Roma looked to try to find a way to get themselves back on their feet, picking up a performance in the Europa League with something that was going to reinvigorate the confidence and momentum back into the side. They wanted to make a statement in the Europa League opener. They failed miserably to do so. A truly unacceptable result. Jose Mourinho rotated the squad ahead of the match. So should have found a way through. This. Isn’t this credit or disrespect to Ludogorets, but Roma definitely could have and should have found a way through. It was away from home in Bulgaria on one of the worst pitches I’ve ever seen. It’s actually surprising they were allowed. Play games here in a European competition like this. The performance wasn’t to sneeze at. It actually was very controlled and dominated by the Romans, which is why I am saying unacceptable results and not performance. There is plenty of positives to take from the way they played. The result is in the end. This is the conflicting part of this. Roma shut them out for The majority of the game. They barely threaten the goal, and then they end up scoring on. Essentially they’re only two chances in the game. A historic result for the Hungarians but a correlation of bad luck for Roma. It was bad luck they created by not finding a way through despite the numerous of chances that they created throughout the 90 minutes. They couldn’t even manage to steal a point once they scored. The Hungarians scored almost immediately after the equalizer. Faltering like that down. The stretch is unacceptable, but still, it was misfortunately created himself by not taking advantage of the chances that they had. I had most of the ball. They dominated. They were in control and had the best chances of the game, yet he couldn’t find nearly enough to get them any points. They start the Europa League on the wrong foot, and their performances and results over the last two games are confusing. The reason they are confusing is that there’s not a definitive answer to why Roma has struggled. The cliche thing was to say the players and the team aren’t good enough. While there is room for improvement sang, the players aren’t good. Enough will be a fabrication, especially considering the way they had control for the majority of the game. The team is good enough, and the players are good enough. Is it potentially a system issue? Perhaps the new pieces have quite had an opportunity to gel. Your answer is good as mine because as much as Roma has not been up to their standard over the last two games. Guess what? It is not a lack of quality Roma have looked strong at points. They looked really antagonizing tonight and even had moments of brilliance in their big defeat last weekend. I don’t see this as a mentality problem, either. They fought until the end. So what actually is going on? The truth is I don’t really have an answer. It hasn’t been good enough over the last 180 minutes, but Roma isn’t in a position where they can legitimately look to the player’s qualities as the reason. Jose needs to figure out what has caused this and how to avoid it. This can’t continue even though Rome has qualities. It’s going to be problematic if it isn’t dealt with. It is embarrassing with a bit of bad luck that they sit in this position. Yet still, the performance itself was very encouraging and optimistic. Finishing chances in front of goal seem to be the obvious answer to the question. Although I feel it’s not as simple as that. Ludogorets deserves the credit for their victory. They never died down, and they took advantage of the chances that they had. Roma didn’t do the same.
Everything Roma 