Union was able to claim its second European point against AS Roma. Both goalkeepers were responsible for the goals. Moris was put away too easily by Mancini at 0-1. Svilar miscalculated on a corner when birthday boy Mac Allister’s equalizer was scored.
Pocognoli shook his team. The usual 3-5-2 changed into a 3-4-3. To accommodate El Sharaawy, Mac Allister moved to the right. This way, Khalaili and Fuseini were able to add some depth to both sides of Ivanovic. Before that, Union used the long ball faster than usual. On paper it was a plan that made sense. However, the return was again lacking. Union was Roma’s equal, but went into halftime with one shot between the posts. Maybe let Kevin Mirallas come to the training center in Lier more than once a week?
Totti’s pride
AS Roma didn’t bring much anymore. Two balls in the hands of Moris. That’s it. Poor. The fear of failure also lurked around the corner in the team of the troubled Ivan Juric. In Italian style, they took a wait-and-see attitude. Hoping for a naive moment at Union to exploit it with an individual class from someone like Pellegrini, but really pumping and bringing pace to the match, whatever. The pride with which Totti wore the Roma shirt, little of it has remained with this team.
Even when a European giant like AS Roma comes to visit, it is still a bit of a shame that Union is playing Europe at the Heysel. The 16,000 supporters do their best, but it is a bit of a story of three goldfish in a large aquarium. It’s not inspiring. And say that a stadium file has been gathering dust in the Vorst town hall for five years.
Baldanzi had a whim shortly after the break. He dribbled in and curled with his left. Moris just tapped the ball against the post. Union escaped. The people of Brussels continue to search for themselves. The lack of results is a problem for this team. Any form of opportunism has melted away. Nobody looks for risks offensively. Even if Khalaili only appears in front of Svilar from offside, he decides on the Serbian Belgian.
Moris and Svilar at fault
Roma eventually found what it was looking for. Moris misjudged a cross from Pellegrini. Mancini climbed high and headed before the ball fell into the goalkeeper’s hands. The French ref still listened to the VAR, but the ball still went to the center spot. An expensive mistake by Moris, who has been very reliable goalkeeper in recent weeks.
Moris claimed a foul at 0-1.
Photo: BELGIAN
Pocognoli responded by bringing on El Hadj and Rodriguez, but Union had difficulty getting out of the grip of Roma, which wanted to control the match. And yet suddenly a goal fell from the sky. On a corner kick from Vanhoutte, Svilar hooked behind a teammate and Kevin Mac Allister easily headed in at the far post.
Union then gained the upper hand and pushed for the winning goal, but, as is often the case, they handled promising situations poorly. El Hadj kicked Svilar from close range. So it remained at 1-1, a good draw for the people of Brussels, but they did not make a jump in the rankings.
Charles Vanhoutte: “I didn’t enjoy myself in the first half”
Mixed feelings for Charles Vanhoutte, who realizes that there was more to AS Roma. “And yet we are more satisfied than disappointed. If you fall behind against a team like AS Roma and still get a point, then that is certainly a bonus.”
“We were not inferior to Roma,” realizes the 26-year-old midfielder. “The first half was a boring match for the neutral supporter, and I actually didn’t enjoy myself either. It was very tactical, perhaps a bit Italian-style. We started too weak in the second half. We could have created more chances than we ultimately did, but sometimes we play too hastily.”
“Moreover, the field was really not in good shape,” said Vanhoutte. “I’m already anticipating the Red Devils’ match next week, because they will still have a lot of work to get the field ready to play here. Well, there are other factors that play a role, of course. Although a point against Roma is not bad in the end. Do we still believe in qualifying? Naturally. We now have 2 out of 12, and it is said that you need at least eight to nine points to continue. That means we have to win at least twice more. That is not impossible, but we will have to do our best. We have not yet hosted a single competition in Europe, but it is efficiency that often makes the difference. The coin regularly falls the wrong way, but we have to keep believing,” Vanhoutte concludes.
Noah Sadiki: “Do we still believe in it? Of course, otherwise we wouldn’t step onto the field anymore.”
Noah Sadiki also doesn’t really know what to think about the draw against AS Roma. “Can we be satisfied? Yes and no. Yes, because we fell behind and still showed character to draw here. No, because there were many moments where you feel that we should have done better. We don’t do that, and that’s why it’s frustrating. We wasted several counter opportunities, there were enough opportunities to get the three points here,” says the 19-year-old midfielder, who was also not satisfied with the field. “It was ugly football: kicking the ball, winning duels and moving forward as quickly as possible. That’s not the football I like, but if it has to be done, it has to be done.”
Sadiki also believes that Union can qualify for the next round. “Of course, otherwise we wouldn’t step onto the field anymore. If you still have a chance to win here against Roma, you can do that against other teams too. We have to keep giving everything. We still have enough time to turn the situation around and join the best 24 teams.”
