After America’s awakening, the awakening of Roma. Man Utd 3–2 Roma. Sassuolo.
If you’d asked me at the start of the season, I would have gladly taken a draw; but heading into this match—given how poor United were—I thought we could have come away with all 3 points. We were even leading 0–2. Then came some poor decisions by Gil Manzano (the referee), fatigue, and the wrong substitutions from Gasp.
But these are all just excuses. The reality is that we have a structural mentality problem: when we need to defend a lead, we’re unable to endure the pressure without breaking. It happened against Inter, against Real Madrid, and against Man Utd.
| 4th UCL | First Half | Second Half | Final Score | Scorers |
 | 58′ Pen. Bruno Fernandes, 83′, 87′ Da Cunha. | |||
 | 11′ Soulé, 18′ Pen. Malen. |
Ci sono varie risposte a queste questioni. Intanto il lavoro. Mettersi sotto con gli allenamenti per arrivare più pronti agli ultimi minuti. In secondo luogo, lavorare sulla mentalità. La grinta. Le palle. Che in altre occasioni abbiamo dimostrato (vedi Napoli). E poi anche Gasp deve cambiare qualcosa in queste situazioni. Forse è il caso di mettere più giocatori freschi a centrocampo e in attacco che in difesa in modo da non tenere un baricentro troppo squilibrato in difesa.
The lesson comes from the USA. Americans rejected Trump in the mid-term elections, handing the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the majority of governorships to the Democrats. The Democrats won in deeply conservative states such as Kansas, Texas, and South Carolina.
A lesson also comes from our fellow Roma supporters in Manchester—who, for a long time, made their presence felt in an otherwise silent Old Trafford. Roma needs a resurgence, much like the one we’ve seen by americans. It’s time to turn the page: next up is Sassuolo. The *neroverdi* from Emilia are a solid side that always looks to dictate the flow of the match (though I’m not sure if they’ll maintain that approach against us). They are led by a capable coach—the great Alberto Aquilani, a true *Romanista*—who, I have no doubt, will approach this encounter with the utmost seriousness.
They primarily attack down their left flank through Doig and Laurienté, but we’ll also need to watch out for their right side, where Walukiewicz and Berardi (who is left-footed) operate.
The Americans and our fellow Roma supporters at Old Trafford have shown us that we can wake up. Following the defeat in Manchester, Roma will host Sassuolo at the Stadio Olimpico—a venue as passionate as ever. A win is a must.
Daje Roma!
Giordano Sepi