Atalanta vs. Roma

With De Rossi and Totti suspended, Andreazzoli will have to make a few tweaks to the lineup that beat Juventus last Saturday. Judging from our training today, it looks like we're going to stick with the 3-4-2-1:

3-4-2-1: Stek; Piris, Burdisso, Marcos; Torosidis, Bradley, Pjanic, Balzaretti; Lamela, Florenzi; Osvaldo.

Bradley and Florenzi would slot in for our current and future captains, while Balzaretti might be selected ahead of Marquinho. Lopez is also not out of the question, in contention with Florenzi for that spot in the front 3.

Another possibility may be to move Pjanic up into the trident and replacing him with one between Florenzi and Marquinho in midfield. However, with Pjanic being used next to Bradley today, I doubt that Andreazzoli is going to risk completely changing the midfield.

We must be wary of German Denis....we're a bogey team of his. He's scored against us 4 times in the last 3 games.

Andrea Consigli will prove tough to beat as well, but beyond that they have scored the 2nd fewest goals in Serie A so far with only 22. Pescara have scored 20.

@DiscussASRoma
ROMA XI (3-4-2-1): Stekelenburg; Piris, Burdisso, Marquinhos; Torosidis, Bradley, Pjanic, Balzaretti; Lamela, Marquinho; Osvaldo

Chances are high that we'll see Lopez, who Andreazzoli said trained well ahead of this match. He'll come on at some point.

Nice free kick by Pjanic. The snow is coming down hard in bergamo. Will they play the second half?

Thoroughly surprised we were able to finish this game considering this weather and the state of the pitch, but not only did we, but we won as well. And without our 2 most important players to boot. I think this result was far more difficult and thus more satisfying that the Juve win honestly because we had to come from behind, in a damn blizzard, to beat these guys. That's grinta for ya.

I'm proud of what we were able to accomplish today, taking 3 points away to atalanta hasn't been easy for us even in the best of conditions in recent times.

My feed was so crappy today, I basically missed most of the game and just listened to the commentators. I seen a Piris error on the one goal, but for the most part our new shape under Andreazzoli looks to be going good if these two games are any indication.

My expectations for the team now are at a all time low, so I wouldn't be surprised if we play above our heads for the rest of the year and claw at the 3rd spot.

I cant undestand one thing - why didnt we get a penalty when that atalanta dude was sent off for slapping Perrrotta?

The only explanation that makes sense is that the referee called play back to where the free kick was originally taken, but still gave the red for violent conduct. I'm not sure exactly when the whistle came though, it seemed to come a little late.

And yea Narbez, my feed was really bad too, plus with all the snow it was as if I was watching the game in binary code.

All in all, I'm happy we were able to take full points in a game we could've easily drawn simply due to the conditions. Well done to Pjanic, controlled the flow of the game and has settled well into his new position. Stekelenburg made a few good stops, especially off a corner in the second half. And congrats to Torosidis for grabbing his first goal; he didn't have a great game since he was one of the players at fault for their two goals, but he resulted decisive in the end.

Bad games from Lamela and Osvaldo. The latter didn't have the service he needed, while Lamela just couldn't create and was not at all a threat. He could've saved his game by putting away that chance in the final minutes, but couldn't beat Consigli who had a fairly good game himself.

Stek is still one shaky keeper. Handling and decision making still need work. Solid enough though.

I blame the pitch and the conditions for Lamela's poor performance. Scrappy games like this don't suit him at all.

My stream was actually rather good, but it made no difference in that blizzard. Couldn't see the ball most of the time, even after they switched it.

Stek hasn't looked good this year in general. There were reports earlier in the season that he needed surgery on his shoulder. That could be one of the reasons why it seems his mobility is lacking. He looks slow and is playing timid and for a tall guy doesn't seem to stretch himself out like other keepers in serie A.(see handanovic)

I was also a bit disappointed to hear that he hadn't even attempted to learn Italian. He's got to look pretty funny organizing his wall in FK's, when no one understands what hes saying, could this be one of the reasons why we have sucked at set pieces for a while? Maybe.

I wouldn't mind taking a run at Consigli this summer, but I think hes destined for Milan. One things for certain, they will get one of Perin or Consigli. I would be happy with either, personally.

I'm willing to give Stek more time, but his attitude at the transfer window was appalling, I could see both sides of it though, and have a hard time holding a grudge against the guy.

Well he's done quite a bit to try and atone for that behavior. He's been taking accelerated Italian courses apparently at Aurelio's asking. That can only help.

narbeZ wrote:Stek hasn't looked good this year in general. There were reports earlier in the season that he needed surgery on his shoulder. That could be one of the reasons why it seems his mobility is lacking. He looks slow and is playing timid and for a tall guy doesn't seem to stretch himself out like other keepers in serie A.(see handanovic)

I was also a bit disappointed to hear that he hadn't even attempted to learn Italian. He's got to look pretty funny organizing his wall in FK's, when no one understands what hes saying, could this be one of the reasons why we have sucked at set pieces for a while? Maybe.

I wouldn't mind taking a run at Consigli this summer, but I think hes destined for Milan. One things for certain, they will get one of Perin or Consigli. I would be happy with either, personally.

I'm willing to give Stek more time, but his attitude at the transfer window was appalling, I could see both sides of it though, and have a hard time holding a grudge against the guy.

Perin is so destined for Milan, its not even funny anymore. He's been jacking off to SES and how Milan has a great project all year

That was a great result in such bad condition
Kudos to fans who traveled in that weather and supported the team
Pjanic was great , he controlled the tempo of the game
It was the first time i was actually happy to see tachtsidis on the pitch , because he dominated the air
Lamela was really poor , i don't know is it because of his age or he is just out of position or both
good job AA , keep it up Roma . Forza Roma

Did tach even play in that game? lol

Lamela was poor because of those conditions... a player that relies on speed and trickery cant really play in snow.. well, i dont think football should be played in snow anyway.

Exactly about Lamela, Flame.

Can't blame him for his performance when the conditions just weren't right for him to perform like we know he can. I expect a much better turn from him this weekend against Genoa.

let me just hope that it was because of weather and bad condition , but he did not have any good game after injury