GIALLOROSSI YORKSHIRE BLOG
Roma crashed out of the Champions League last night after a pathetic Giallorossi performance saw Porto advance from their Round of 16 clash after extra time.
Porto were easily the better side on the night, and they matched the 2-1 scoreline from the first leg to take the game to an additional 30 minutes. During that time, a needless penalty given away by Alessandro Florenzi gave the Portuguese side the chance they needed to seal the Lupi's fate, making it 4-3 on aggregate. Coupled with the weekend's loss to Lazio in the Derby Della Capitale, there will surely be a major fallout from this game. Here are the starting talking points. Roma cease to function in De Rossi's absence Once again, Roma proved how reliant they are on 35-year-old captain Daniele De Rossi. The veteran midfielder took charge when Roma were awarded a penalty late in the first half, coolly dispatching it past Iker Casillas. However, soon after, he was limping off injured, and that's where Roma began to fall apart. The Giallorossi lost all their rhythm following the captain's departure, and no-one stepped up to take over his leadership. Consequently, Roma lost structure, belief, and their cool, meaning Porto were always in the driving seat. Roma can only hope the injury to De Rossi isn't too serious, because, even at his age, he's still their most important player. Schick proves he can be a gamechanger One man who has seen a slight upturn in his fortunes recently is Patrik Schick, and the striker made some sort of impact after coming on in extra time. His fellow attacker, Edin Dzeko, had barely had a sniff all game, but following Schick's introduction, the Bosnian started to get a few chances. That was no coincidence. Schick gave him something to work around and link up with. Surely the Czech deserves more time in the first team picture now. Time for a rest, Zaniolo? By the end of extra time, Roma's young prodigy Nicolo Zaniolo looked absolutely exhausted. Yes, he's been in great form recently, but Eusebio Di Francesco has perhaps been putting too much faith in him. Zaniolo is still very young, and his gametime and workload need to be managed. Against Porto, he cut a frustrated figure, in a performance that starkly contrasted his output in the first leg. He was sloppy in possession, gave away cheap fouls - a theme that he needs to remove from his game - and lacked his usual spark. It's not all his fault. He's played too much football recently, and too much football out of position. He needs to be moved back to a central role, and have his workload limited, or else he will burn out before the end of the season. Di Francesco's last legs Going into the game, it was billed as a last chance saloon for Di Francesco. Lose, and he would be sacked. It's not the first time EDF has found himself under pressure, but this time he really didn't get the reaction he needed. After the 7-1 loss to Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia, it looked like he had one game left to save his job. In the following match, against Milan, the team showed enough of a reaction to suggest they were still fighting for him, as they earned a 1-1 draw. Last night, that didn't happen. Roma looked devoid of confidence and belief when they needed it most. The performance typified a side that had run out of ideas. Surely it's now time for a change.
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samuel bannister
Founder and editor of Giallorossi Yorkshire, who is also a columnist for Roma's official website about the women's team. Categories
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October 2019
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