With a show of faith, drive and choir, also supported by numerical superiority in the second half, Roma recovered from Sassuolo (1-2) with a goal from Dybala and another own goal from Kristensen, an unexpected hero of the game This breathed life into his team after his arrival, which puts Mourinho’s team in the fight for a place in the Champions League.
With fourth place at stake, this is a golden opportunity to put pressure on Napoli and recover from the defeat against Switzerland’s Servette, which complicated their chances of finishing group leaders in the Europa League, and after a previous one Torn by Mourinho assuring that the referee didn’t have the “emotional stability” for a game of this level, Roma managed to overcome the complicated challenge at the home of Sassuolo.
Thanks in large part to the performance of Kristensen, who caused the equalizing penalty and forced the winning goal, the fifth away goal of 2023, the upcoming score for this team.
All in an even game that was unbalanced after Boloca was sent off after his strong tackle on Paredes and that started with Roma controlling the ball but Sassuolo’s warnings on the counterattack were ever present.
A trap duel for the Romans, because the ‘Neroverdi’, despite finishing tenth in the duel, are known for being the giant killers of Serie A and for having created a fortress at home against Mourinho’s men, who haven’t won there since had 2018, 5 years ago.
But despite controlling possession, they were again very poor in defense and allowed a goal from Sassuolo’s first shot, in a game with a bit of luck for the locals where Berardi’s shot ended up being a perfect assist at the back post for Matheus Henrique became , who pushed at will to open the scoring.
Once again it was Roma’s turn to fight, once again they were behind on the scoreboard against a difficult opponent. But he kept his game, he had the ball, he looked for Lukaku to gain meters and drew fuel from his corpulence in a move that ended with Consigli, Sassuolo’s goalkeeper, He popped into the top corner to prevent the draw from an angled shot from Dybala following Lukaku’s move.
The “Loba” seemed to turn the situation around, but Sassuolo quickly responded with another lightning attack, which Thorstvedt finished in one of the clearest attacks of the game. The Norwegian moved into the penalty area and shot into the middle with his right foot, easy for Rui Patricio.
Mourinho moved the pieces around after the break and in order to have more attacking presence, he brought on another striker, Azmoun, for a midfielder, Bove, delaying Dybala’s position slightly. The Setubalense’s plan worked and Roma had a very clear chance to equalize through Lukaku’s boots, but Consigli appeared again to keep the door closed.
It seemed like the game was getting more and more complicated for Mourinho’s team, but then Boloca received a red card for a very hard tackle on Paredes that had to be checked by VAR. Half an hour with superiority for Roma.
The harassment was total until Kristensen received the penalty after a good dribble. Dybala did not fail from eleven meters, although Consigli was on the verge of becoming a hero.
The “Wolf” continued to push and 6 minutes later Kristensen tried his luck again with a run-in and shot from the front that hit the tail and made a parabola that surpassed Consigli. The winning goal, the first in his personal record with Roma, from Roma’s unexpected hero.
A decisive victory for the “Giallorossi”, who already have their eyes on the Champions League places. They are tied on 24 points with Napoli, who have to play against Napoli. Sassuolo remains fifteenth with 15 points, just 5 above relegation.