Roma – Udinese 3-0

Roma were good at convincingly winning a risky match, especially after a defeat like the one against Juve. Roma did well to make everything clear with the beautiful goal from Veretout (the first header in Italy), after a good group action and a great assist from Mancini, who is growing exponentially. Good at doubling thanks to a clear penalty (at least for the rules of recent years) again with Jordan Veretout (man of the match). And then to close in injury time with a goal more intelligent than powerful from Pedro (welcome back!).

Udinese (also because they went behind after 4 minutes) tried to play attacking and pressing. Fonseca's choices were right. Cristante as a central defender, was good in construction (except for one mistake which could have been bloody, but where Pau Lopez was excellent) and in the defensive phase (but we collectively did a good defensive phase, also with Karsdorp and Spina). Borja, as central striker, extended the defense of the Hapsburg bianconeri, while Mkhi (excellent performance) and Pellegrini went to help in construction. A tactic that has worked well. Gonzalito Villar also played very well. In general it was an excellent performance with a score perhaps a bit stingy.

Giacomelli's refereeing was influenced by the (wrong) prejudice that he is in favor of Roma. After the penalty which, as we have said, is clear. Roma can complain for Pellegrini's goal, which seemed to me to be regular, and for a foul in the box on Dzeko, who entered in the last 20 minutes. In general, we should protest more. In Italy, protest is considered as proof of having suffered abuse (commentators often, to agree with the referee, say "The player didn't even protest"). I know that protest is not an example of great sporting culture, but other teams have won championships with this method.

Guardiola's Bayern Munich won in Germany, as well as for the overwhelming technical quality, because it combined the imagination and the Spanish tiki-taka to the German concreteness. This is also valid for Manchester City today. Similarly, Fonseca's Roma combines a Portuguese mentality with an Italian soul. Portuguese possession, often sterile, becomes effective thanks to the Italian counterattack. At the moment, it is difficult to predict a cup for Roma (even if I continue to harbor this hope), for this reason it is important to confirm the squad and the coach to consolidate tactical and human mechanisms, because the technical quality of the squad is already high. The next opponent is Sporting Braga in the Europa League. They are an atypical Portuguese team: very vertical. It will take maximum effort to get through this round. Daje Roma!

Giordano Sepi