Alessio D’Urso
January 23, 2025 (changed at 8.51pm) – MILANO
No breakthrough on the road. Roma gives way to Az Alkmaar, complicating their path in the Europa League: goodbye to direct qualification and now the Giallorossi will play the playoffs against Eintracht Frankfurt at the Olimpico on January 30th. A bitter evening, despite the undeniable commitment of Claudio Ranieri’s team, hit late by Parrott’s Dutch goal.
What a pace
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Ranieri surprisingly deploys Celik alongside Hummels and Nicka in defence, launches Pisilli in place of Pellegrini in the middle and attacks with Dybala and Dovbyk, while Az lines up forward with a battery of attacking midfielders made up of Poku, Mijnans and Lahdo behind the center forward Meerdink. The spaces are tight and the two teams struggle to gain meters of pitch at the start. Roma maneuver quickly, as requested by the coach, and Dybala is always the most effective in opening gaps for his teammates, spanning the entire offensive front. The first attack is inspired in the 17th minute by the Argentine who tries to serve Divbyk in the area, but Goes’s closure is decisive. The hosts responded with Mijnans, who did well to wedge himself into the area in the 25th minute: just as he was about to kick on goal, Az’s number 10 was blocked by Koné. The nervousness is palpable on the pitch (Dpvbyk and Hummels booked) and there is no shortage of hard tackles on both sides. The Dutch showed compactness and closed the first half on a high note, with a powerful but out-of-measure conclusion from Meerdink.
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Dentro Soulé
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In the second half Ranieri throws Soulé into the fray, coming on in place of Dovbyk, and Roma immediately hit the accelerator. In the 4th minute Angelino crosses from rabona and finds Dybala who with a counter-ball sends the ball just high over the crossbar. The Giallorossi remain continuously in the Dutch half of the pitch: even Soulé himself tunes in to the right frequencies and worries the opposing defenders, starting from the left. As the minutes passed, the two coaches intervened from the bench with the substitutions and Ranieri, in particular, tried everything even with the entry of El Shaarawy onto the pitch in place of Saelemaekers. A Rome of jugglers in the sixteen meters looking for tight phrasing to juggle Martens’ cards. But coinciding with the physical decline of the Giallorossi, the Dutch struck in the 35th minute with a full-throttle restart culminating with Wolfe’s assist and Parrott’s winning touch (kept in play by Celik) who passed the ball under Svilar. A terrible blow for Ranieri’s team who pushed for long minutes looking for a goal even with the new arrival Baldanzi. Not even the latest attacks inspired by the usual Dybala produce any effects. And Roma had to surrender to the evidence: a bitter defeat, despite a considerable expenditure of energy.
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