Information Ball – Are there times when the golden rule persists on, on and off the pitch, working against the team? That thought came into play next Saturday night at the Olimpico in Rome as we watched AS Roma lose 2-1 to Atalanta. Looking back at this game, it is difficult to conclude whether Roma were more disappointing in the first half or in the second half. In the first half, the ease with which Atalanta cut through the Roma defence, dampened paperwork, scored twice in the first 20 minutes and almost scored a third against at least two other almost embarrassing chances.
IT WAS NOT GOOD ENOUGH BUT WHEN ROMA WENT INTO THE SECOND HALF
They were at least able to entertain themselves together with two considerations. First, it can be difficult to make a poor addition over 45 minutes like it was in the first half. Second, along with the numerical advantage following the sending off of Dutch midfielder Atalanta Marten De Roon in the 44th minute, there can definitely be every chance to get back into the game.
Inevitably, the second half was played almost completely in the Atalanta half of the pitch. When situs judi online Roma striker Edin Dzeko scored his first goal in more than a month after just 11 minutes, it was only legitimate to wish that Roma could build on their momentum and, at the very least, score an equalizer against Atalanta which, understandably, was focused almost exclusively to survive together in desperation.
However, not really. Long before the final whistle, some of the Roma fans had gone home, having rightly concluded that this was not their team’s best night. Too many square passes, too little “vertical” football and Roma’s odd midfield failed to result in a disappointing second half as the home side’s total dominance only resulted in frustration.
And there we come to our original question. Much missed in Roma’s unimpressive midfield is Belgian club dynamic Radja Nainggolan, a player whose 110 per cent, all-action, covering, chasing and goalscoring contribution has saved the day for Roma on more than one occasion.
The point about Nainggolan, of course, is that he was dropped for the Atalanta game for disciplinary reasons. Unfortunately for him, Nainggolan has already posted his own New Year’s greetings for fans and others on Instagram. The problem is that in New Year’s messages to popolo, players go out smoking and drinking, he’s heard swearing and he usually appears in a situation that, at times, we might call “tired and emotional” .
Unsurprisingly, the people in Rome weren’t too happy. Coach Eusebio Di Francesco, one of the brightest to come from a new wave of Italian coaches, took over the hard line, dropping players, mentioning his decision: “It is about together with the kind of behavior that needs to be constant for anyone at AS Roma that results in certain mistakes. This [error] is unacceptable and will not be accepted in the future… Anyone who causes an error like this can pay the same price. ”
Di Francesco added that there was a discrepancy between the phone footage “stolen” by a passing fan and this particular footage, which was posted on the player’s Instagram website. Many fans and commentators will likely agree with Di Francesco, along with arguing that his hard line is more than understandable in the context of professional team sport. We also can never tell if the result will be different unless he plays, such as Roma’s poor form. However, doubts still exist.
AS FOR ROME, A SUPERB FALL WAS ONLY SLIGHTLY BLEAK AGAINST THE TURN OF TH. THIS.
With just one point coming from their last three league games, Roma 2017 ended along with a 1-0 away defeat to Juventus against 23 December and a disappointing 1-1 home draw to Sassuolo one week later. As for their 2018, well it couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start.
The only good news is that Roma can hope that they can wipe this mini-crisis far from their system before they will meet Ukrainian side, Shakhtar Donetsk , in their Champions League, second round matches against 21 February and 13 March. As it stands, participation in the Champions League th. The front isn’t guaranteed, considering that city cousins Lazio leapfrogged them last weekend, moving into fourth place just a point away from Roma.
The Simone Inzaghi coaching Lazio has, of course, been itself one of the brightest lights of the season. On Saturday, they thrashed Spal 5-2 away from home in a match in which their Italy striker, Ciro Immobile, scored four to climb to the top of the goalscoring list with 20 goals, two points ahead of Mauro Icardi. from Inter. You need to conclude that the bitter cup of Rome flows. Already, the second seasonal Rome derby, scheduled for next April, came out too “hot”.