Roma with their men counted took almost 80 minutes but managed to beat Sassuolo and move at least temporarily into second place, three points behind leaders Inter
Gasperini has the right Koné. Manuthe one who with braids – because with the foot the effort is infinite – with 14′ remaining he put all his frustration into the goal of a team, Roma, which had produced so much in the second half. The other, Ismael, did not get on the Olimpico train in the first half, when only in front of Svilar did he not convert an opportunity that would have changed the direction of the match.
The summary is extreme, but it tells a lot about this Roma-Sassuolo match. It was Gasperini’s victory, this one perhaps more than others. Even forced to call back from read about the Wesleyan influence and to summon him only in the morning, and then put him on on the pitch in the second half (decisive entry, in terms of pace and intensity). Symbolically, within a team left without a centre-forward, with Ferguson hit hard after 15′ and remained inside for the honor of signing until the 39th minute, Gasp went to checkers to push his team at half-time, convincing them that only by increasing the pace could they put Sassuolo’s dribble in difficulty.
Tomorrow the center forward will probably be given it by the market: Raspadori’s yes is expected. But in the second 45 minutes of the match we saw a team totally clinging to the principles of their coach, to the point of pitching their tents in the opponent’s half of the pitch even at the risk of risking lethal counterattacks by Fadera and Laurienté. But they were calculated risks, at the end of the day.
Two players above all had the leg and the potential to drag Roma along. Koné, in fact. And the other was Souléwho responded presently: his was the great assist from the left for the lead, his was the left foot of the easy doubling after a masterful move, finished by El Shaarawy’s heel. Among those born from 2003 onwards, in addition to Soulé, only Yamal has reached 10 goals and assists in the five top tournaments in the last three seasons.
Sassuolo, led by a Matic who is still dominant in this Serie Ahad two great demerits: not having implemented the many potentially dangerous situations of the first half, with several errors in the penultimate passage. And then, in the second half, not being able to withstand the impact of the opponents’ growth in the middle of the pitch (well done Pisilli).
Roma understood this difficulty of Grosso’s team and got into the match. «At half-time I just told my team that I would like to see them attack the area, as happens in training – said Gasperini -. I have an extraordinary team with character.” After Tsimikas’ incredible mistake with an empty net, here is the one-two signed by Koné-Soulé. And Gasp confirmed himself as deadly against teams with lower technical quality: they won all the matches, with the exception of Turin and Cagliari. The real leap will have to be made in the big matches. Maybe help from the market will be needed. But in the meantime, despite having two more games, Roma enjoyed a night as second in the standings.
