GIALLOROSSI YORKSHIRE BLOG
Roma sacrificed a one goal lead in Ukraine last night, as Shakhtar Donetsk came from behind to win 2-1.
The first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 tie was a real game of two halves, with the Roma that showed up in the second half looking like a completely different team to the one who had put in a solid first 45 minutes. Here are the positives and negatives from the first leg defeat. + Crucial Away Goal After scoring the vital away goal, all Roma need to do to reach the quarter finals is beat Shakhtar 1-0 at home. This has been Roma's favourite scoreline this season, so all they need to do is repeat it and they will have made it to the final eight of the tournament. + Dzeko and Cengiz Link Up to Score The goal came from a good passage of play between Edin Dzeko and Cengiz Under. Under made a good run forward to exploit the space, with Dzeko spotting the Turk's movement. The striker then played a very good through ball to Cengiz, who finished for his first Champions League goal. Dzeko had a good understanding with Mohamed Salah last season, and perhaps this could be the beginning of a new partnership with Cengiz, which could benefit them both. - Full Backs Torn to Pieces Much of Shakhtar's joy came down the wings, and it's fair to say Roma's full backs - especially Alessandro Florenzi - were annihilated. Florenzi couldn't deal with the threat posed by Bernard on Shakhtar's left wing, causing real problems for Roma's defence. When Bruno Peres replaced him, a similar pattern continued. Aleksandar Kolarov wasn't as poor as the two right sided full backs, but still looks a shadow of the player he was earlier in the season. It's a problem that needs addressing before the second leg. - Midfield Bypassed Roma's midfielders struggled to get into the game, in particular Radja Nainggolan. Eusebio Di Francesco has recently changed the team's formation to utilise the Belgian in a more advanced role, but he is not playing as well there as he did last season. Behind him, Kevin Strootman and Daniele De Rossi weren't terrible, but didn't have as large an impact on the game as they could have. Final Thoughts Despite the second half collapse, Roma hung on to ensure they remained just one goal behind in the tie. This was in part due to the continued heroics of Alisson in goal, who now must surely be regarded as one of the best keepers in the world. It's a result that keeps Roma in the competition, and if certain issues are resolved before the second leg, they still stand a very good chance of going through.
2 Comments
AS Roma North UK
22/2/2018 02:52:27 pm
What can we do to sort RB in particular? We can only hope Karsdorp hits the ground running and actually performs. I doubt Jonathan Silva is going to be our saving grace either.
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Samuel Bannister
22/2/2018 11:08:15 pm
I’ll get an answer on the Q&A tomorrow 👍
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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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