Roma 3, Genoa 1: El Shaarawy Saves the Day!

The Genoa Cricket and Football Club is always one of the trickier opponents on Roma’s fixture list. Without bonafide threats on the roster (outside of Andrea Pinamonti, perhaps), it can be easy to overlook the Griffins. Still, despite a lack of star power, Genoa has made life difficult for Roma over the past 18 months, including a 4-1 undressing in the fall of 2023 and a gut-wrenching 1-1 draw this past September when Koni De Winter scored a 96th-minute equalizer to end Daniele De Rossi’s brief tenure as Roma manager.

Riding a five-match unbeaten streak into today’s Round 21 fixture at the Stadio Olimpico, Claudio Ranieri rolled with the same starting lineup for the third consecutive match. Ranieri’s lineup, which included Paulo Dybala, Lorenzo Pellegrini, and Artem Dovbyk in attack, nearly broke the seal in the 9th minute when Dybala stroked a free-kick off the crossbar, the 11th time Roma has been denied by the woodwork this season.

Undaunted, Roma pressed on, searching for an early lead to rile up an already boisterous Stadio Olimpico. And while it didn’t play out exactly how they drew it up, the capital club drew first blood in the 25th minute.

After another pinpoint cross from Alexis Saelemaekers to the opposite post, Pellegrini appeared to lose sight of it momentarily as De Winter tried to clear the ball, getting only a scuffed attempt at goal. Fortunately, Pellegrini got just enough on the ball to produce a meaty rebound for Dovbyk, who nonchalantly poked the ball into the empty net to give the Giallorossi an early(ish) lead.

But Roma’s joy was short-lived. Eight minutes later, Genoa struck back with a quick, crisp, and clean corner kick, drawing level after Patrizio Masini struck Fabio Miretti’s corner kick in the middle of the box for a no-doubter.

Roma grabbing an early lead and coughing it up moments later is becoming an all-too-regular occurrence. However, in this instance, Ranieri and Roma struck the right notes for the remainder of the evening, doubling Genoa’s second-half shot output and limiting the visitor’s second-half chances.

While that’s all well and good, Roma still had work to do in the second half, including recapturing the lead. Unlike last weekend, Ranieri made an immediate change to start the new half, swapping out Lorenzo Pellegrini for Stephan El Shaarawy, who made his 300th appearance for the capital club tonight.

And what an occasion it was…

After initially keeping the play alive by settling a loose ball and passing it back to Manu Koné, El Shaarawy finished the sequence with a perfectly struck shot from the edge of the box, placing a low, looping shot just past Nicola Leali’s reach. However, this moment wouldn’t have occurred without Dybala’s composure in the center of the area; he did well to find SES at the box’s edge, even as multiple Genoa defenders closed in on him.

Even with a one-goal lead, Roma had 30 minutes to burn before collecting three points. And if recent history was any indication, tonight’s victory was far from assured. However, rather than closing up shop and protecting the lead, Ranieri’s men continued to hunt for a crucial third goal.

While Roma wasn’t ultimately credited with their third goal, thanks to an incredible run from Koné, who wove his way through several defenders before squaring a ball to Dybala, the Giallorossi put the match to bed in the 73rd minute after Leali’s attempted interception inadvertently bounced into the back of the net, effectively ending the match with 17 minutes to spare.

Final Thoughts

Following Genoa’s first-half equalizer, it was a bit touch and go, but credit Ranieri and Roma for learning from their recent mistakes. The second-half passivity we’ve seen derail Roma several times this season disappeared as Dybala, Saelemaekers, Angeliño, and the rest of Claudio’s crew continued to force the issue deep into the final third. While it may have taken a bit of hard luck from Leali to officially deliver the W, Roma was clearly the better side tonight and walked away with three richly deserved points.