At the worst moment, Roma reacts with a victory.
The forty-eight hours that separated Genoa-Roma and Roma-Frosinone must have been the heaviest for José Mourinho for quite some time. From the goleada at Marassi, Roma emerged with broken bones both emotionally and post-match Mou he attacked the performances of Pellegrini and Dybala, reiterating that he had rejected amazing offers and “don’t be Roma’s problem” – both physically, given that Diego Llorente’s injury has, not too surprisingly, further weakened an already very short defensive unit. The result, also not surprising, is that Bryan Cristante is back at the center of defensea choice which, according to Mourinho, had penalized the team in Genoa.
Yet, at least in the initial stages of the match, Roma showed themselves to be different from their recent outings, if only in their intentions: Lukaku and Dybala were also called upon to pressure Frosinone’s low circulation, forming the head of an unprecedented 4-4-2 in the non-possession phase. The news, however, basically ends here: Mourinho tried to shorten the team up front, inserting some principles of re-aggression in midfield, a necessary choice after seeing the prairies opening up behind Paredes in the match at Marassi. For the rest, however, Roma remained dramatically chaotic with the ball, clinging almost exclusively to a very direct game, made up of throws, even on the first construction, for Lukaku’s head or chest. It is no coincidence that the opening goal came from the Belgiangood at controlling the area after a dirty touch from Dybala and kicking on goal with extraordinary calm.
The first half, in fact, can be summed up in the play of the two center forwards: if with two shots Lukaku came close to scoring a double, Marvin Çuni instead missed Frosinone’s two best opportunities. Two occasions, it must be said, were not very simple: the first was from a very tight angle – even with the goalkeeper out of position – and the second was a volley on a beautiful first ball from Soulé. The second half, however, was decidedly more unbalanced: Roma began to produce something in terms of play but more in terms of quantity than quality. In this second half it was bordering on chaotic to emerge, above all due to its intensity Edoardo Bove, extraordinary in his self-denial – 21 duels attempted, of which 11 won – and also capable of finding some constructive plays with the ball, certifying a growth that began already last season. In the long run, the technical imbalance took shape in a more tangible way, with two not very clean occasions for Kristensen and Bove himself but, above all, through Dybala and Pellegrini, both not in their best evenings but good at combining from free kicks – with a notable help from Turati, it must be said – for the final 2-0.
Roma, even before a convincing performance, absolutely needed a victory and, in the end, this is what they got. Mourinho’s team doesn’t seem to have gotten over Marassi’s performance yet but, if nothing else, they showed they are still standing. In this sense the tactical discussion has once again become central, with a team that, even against a decidedly more orderly team than Zanetti’s Empoli, managed to bring the lines closer together and rediscover an intensity and aggressiveness, both fundamental to sustain the no longer scratchable defensive framework of the Portuguese. Clearly, a victory against Frosinone – who still remain at +1 in the standings – is not a strong and clear sign of recovery but at least a base from which Roma can start again.
At the same time, this could not be the match in which to judge the progress of Di Francesco’s team but to the Sambuceto coach, who until a few months ago was a pariah of Serie A, he must be recognized for having given a clear sign to his team. Frosinone tried to play their game, trying, even with difficulty, to manipulate Roma’s low block and forcing the Giallorossi players to get their hands dirty in duels. If we have already mentioned Çuni’s reviewable performance, it should also be underlined how Matias Soulé left the field with an incredibly positive game: the Juventus Argentinian produced four key passes in a match where his teammates were all dramatically dulled, showing himself as the true creative center of the team in a style that, perhaps not randomly, it recalls that of Berardi in Sassuolo. For the rest, neither Baez nor the substitutes Caso and Cheddira managed to add to Frosinone the weight that would have been needed to score a goal. Nonetheless, Di Francesco’s ideas seem to have fit well into Frosinone and, in the long run, this can become a factor for salvation.
2023-10-01 21:32:54
#Roma #Frosinone #considerations #scattered
