Chris Smalling is back, on the pitch from the first minute. This is the positive news of the evening. For the rest nothing to declare, were it not that the many youngsters and reserves who went on to play. As with Young Boys. But it cannot be a mitigating factor. At the Olympic Stadium it’s the second match of the Europa League and it ends goalless, against the fifth in the standings of the Bulgarian championship, N.256 in the Uefa ranking, already defeated at home by Cluj. One of the weakest teams. Nevertheless, the Bulgarians play better and come close to scoring several times in a sensational way.
Same as in Switzerland, the new team do not start well, at the end making only 6 shots on goal, almost all in the last 20 minutes with the old boys in in the field such as Pedro, Pellegrini and Dzeko. Yet this time the Bosnian does not make his mark, guilty of an incredible mistake a few inches with the door unguarded, just minutes from the end. The turning point that supported Fonseca’s plan. It could have ended happily like in Switzerland, not a great performance but at least with 3 points in your pocket. Instead this time we only remember the bad display.
The Spaniards Borja Mayoral, and Carles Perez disappoint. Good enough Villar and Pau Lopez who saves Roma at least a couple of times. Spinazzola is really good on the wing but misses the final delivery. Bruno Peres again very poor and Karsdorp just awful when he enters in the second half. The Dutchman does the impossible to irritate. Luckily he had talked to the Friedkins about his future. The truth is that Roma need a reliable right-back in January. So, Bruno and Rick can go elsewhere. Borja Mayoral can be given time to settle in and understand Italian football, but the impression is that he’s not a sniper but one who needs to move around with space. He does not look to have the confidence and experience. Someone to regret Kalinic?
In the meantime, the team’s good performance at the San Siro was thwarted by a worrying performance. That said, the first team will return against Fiorentina. The feeling is it will be another Roma. Just like against Milan, However, the Viola are a bad customer and reckon they will create problems with Ribery. And they can boast three quality forwards such as Kuaome, Vlahovic and Cutrone. Amazing. Yet Roma needs to win this one. Lets do it. Daje!