Empoli v Roma Post-Match Discussion

[McLewis]

Before everyone goes off the deep end about how poor we were, let's remember that all that matters today was the "W". We were absolutely awful basically all game and yet still ground out a win. I call that progress as pre-Rudi we disintegrated against teams that press and park like Empoli today and ended up losing. We won ugly and for me, that's a mark of a champion.

Now onto the game.

MDS was rather busy today which says a bit about the defending. Empoli were reduced to primarily long range shots, but did catch us out a few times. Manolas-Astori partnership, as untested as it is, did ok I felt. Manolas clearly has talent and Astori looked assured enough. Maicon, for all of the bluster surrounding what happened to him with Brazil, put in a rather good performance, showing how tough he is to rattle mentally these days. Cole looked less than assured, but still solid enough. Would've like to have gotten a look at Holebas in that LB role.

Midfield was where we were probably at our worst today. Pjanic was average, Nainggolan ran and was prominently involved in the lone goal and DDR did a helluva lot of dirty work, more than he should've needed to do against a side like this. I didn't have an issue with the movement or the defending of the midfield, but the passing was absolutely woeful. When Pjanic has an off game like this, it reflects much more on just him, as we saw today. That said, I suspect we'll improve markedly against CSKA, which was clearly what was on the player's minds today.

Not much to say about what was going on up front. Destro simply didn't get enough service from his wingers and midfield. Only so much he can do without the ball and he did that little. This was a central reason why we simply didn't trouble Empoli enough. Good passing is the foundation of creating good chances. You rarely get one without the other and today typified that.

But like I said at the beginning. It's all about that "W". We have always prided ourselves, as a club, on the the type of football we play. We are seen as the romantic team in Serie A. Rudi has made it clear that this needs to change as this does not win you titles. We needed an ugly win today and we got just that. If we can do this against all of the lower teams in this league, I'll take wins like this all season long because we all know what happens to teams who have the ability to grind out results like this.

Now onto CSKA on Wednesday.

[gb]

Great review McLewis. Like you said, we really couldn't find any consistency in our passing game today but we managed to inch out a win, something that I found to be a key difference between this years squad and last yrs. Last year when the game was tight, it seemed we only managed to get draws and when we lost it was by a substantial scoreline.

[McLewis]

Yeah agreed GB. Today's scoreline was quite fortuitous honestly as Nainggolan's goal could've easily been ruled an OG. Either way just highlights how little we actually created.

[DiRocco]

Was not our best game, but I have to give Empoli credit for that. They actually played quite well and pressed exceptionally. It could have easily been 2-0 if Maicon would have burried his chance, alternatively it could have ended 1-1 If it not for MDS.

Like Rudi said after the match, a lot of teams may have trouble at that ground this year and I concur.

I thought Destro was terrible, easily the worst player on the pitch. He didn't get service, this is true, but he was also lazy and spent half the match walking and shoulder Swagging. He could have been chasing down defenders and lose balls. Very similar to Balotelli when he's having one of those days when he just can't be bothered. Mattia is talented enough to actually get involved in the play and even drop a bit and run with the ball, I don't believe his game is based entirely on midfield service.

[McLewis]

Agree, but Destro does need that spark from midfield to get him going. This game merely just confirmed that he isn't going to be that striker that hassles and harries defenders when without the ball. I would prefer he be one of those types of strikers as it adds so much to our presence in that third of the pitch, but Destro isn't going to be that guy.

[DiRocco]

It certainly does seem that he wont be, which is too bad. Totti even presses more than Destro does...Makes me wish we still had Borini....Man that guy would chase down everything, great work ethic.

[McLewis]

So the good news from this game is that there was no CL hangover of the likes of which we saw Liverpool suffer. I really feared for us after seeing them go down in flames like they did. So glad to see these lads are made of sterner stuff and it reminded me why I'm not coaching Roma

So onto the game. De Sanctis had a bit to do as Cagliari did test him a couple of times. Ibarbo was always their dangerman, but Kosta and Mapou rarely allowed the big Colombian to get into any comfortable positions thus MDS was able to see how the game quite well. For me, Maicon was easily MOTM. He never stopped running at his marker on that side of the pitch and beat that poor lad every single time he was on the ball, whipping in dangerous service for Destro and Gervinho as well as simply finding space for his own chances. Absolutely monstrous display from the Dougie. Manolas once again looked ridiculously assured for such a young defender facing a rather good striker in Ibarbo. Yanga-Mbiwa had an excellent debut I felt and what really highlighted it was his instant chemistry with young Kostas. They knew exactly how to keep Cagliari at bay and Mapou's confidence in carrying the ball out of defense in order find a midfielder or full-back (which he found basically every time he attempted this) was quite good to watch. The only defender I felt had an average game was Cole, who wasn't all that bad, but was just over shadowed by the other 3 guys back there with him. He did get beat a few times though by his marker.

A midfield without Pjanic usually lack creativity and that was the case today until the Bosnian came on and began to pull the strings like only he can. The difference between this game and others is that we didn't nessarily need that creativity coming from this part of the pitch and that lack of pressure had to feel good for Keita, DDR and Nainggolan, who all had solid games. Keita, for me, was our best midfielder however. So calm and so assured on the ball and in the pass. Picked out some truly wonderful passes to the wingers, showing a potentially underrated part of his game. Nainggolan was typical Nainggolan though for all of his energy, he did kinda look a bit aimless with his running. He did tremendous work keeping the Cagliari midfield from affecting the game through the middle, but on the other side of the ball, his passing was quite off. Same goes with DDR, who did a lot of the defensive work, but his long balls really let him down today. Let's hope his injury isn't serious along with the knock Keita picked up. That's a whole lotta midfield depth we're missing if those 2 both go down. Either way, this is why we have Paredes and Ucan in the squad.

Up front, Gervinho was typical Gervinho today, but was just missing that final end product today. Had a glorious chance (as he always does) that he utterly spurned. Florenzi was definitely the brightest attacking player for me. So much inventiveness, drive and intelligence in his play. His goal was well taken and it was well worth the card he got for showing his Nonna some love. He's taking the minutes given him and doing amazing things with them, something Ljajic once again failed to do today. And then there's Destro, getting off his mark early today with a cooly taken tap-in. Goals like that are going be hard to miss and Destro simply won't do that much this season. He's picked up right where he left off last season. Just gotta make sure he stays fit.

The shape of the team on a whole looked good today. Thought we came out guns blazing and wrapped the game up early enough to have to manage it, which is often tricky to do at 2-0. Cagliari, in typical Zeman fashion, tried to have their say today as they did give us spells of deep defending and partial reliance on MDS to make the saves we know he can make. Despite that possession and chance creation, there was a distinct feeling that Roma was never well and truly tested by Cagliari. We're keeping pace with Juve, but just like last season....someone's got a blink first in this game of chicken. With the injures mounting for us and with a relentess schedule over the next few weeks...that could easily be us if our mentality doesn't stay strong.

Next up: A free-scoring Parma side at the Ennio Tardini. That should be a very fun match.

[gb]

Ale Flo is really pushing the likes of De Rossi and Totti as my favorite Roma player ever. I believe him to be the premier symbol of this new American Roma project

[McLewis]

Delayed reaction to the match due to work, but what a win this was.

Parma probably the first side to really give us a scare defensively and make their pressure on our defense count for something. Sucks that we conceded the first goal of the season so early compared to last season, but I'm not too concerned with it overall.

Ultimately, the solidity of this side is so different from where we were last season, when we were just a ball frenetic energy, emotion and passion. This team looks grounded and ready for a long, testing campaign. They look ready to go toe to toe with Juve truly for the first time in years. Winning like this should be giving us a lot more hope for what's come over the next couple of weeks. We have Verona at the weekend and then a crucible next week with an away match in the CL to Man City followed by showdown with Juve in Torino. Our illustrious captain turns 38 this weekend as well so we all know what he wants for a present.

Fun times to be a Romanista these days, lads....embrace it and live for it!

[flameas]

The unstoppable Roma. The Scudetto spirit is there, you can feel it. Producing some late magic to see off sides like Parma is crucial. Even with all those injuries.

Now lets give Capitano a birthday present and then shut up the English press.

[McLewis]

No real need for me to go into preambles and paragraphs about what this game is. It's obviously not a title decider, but it's a huge game nonetheless for both clubs.

Roma enter this game without De Sanctis in goal, Castan and Astori in defense, and De Rossi and Strootman in midfield. Injuries notwithstanding, the real worry about this game for me is the energy levels of the players, namely the midfield as all 3 of those players have to be knackered at this point. Some good news is that we do have Salih Ucan returning from injury to add some coverage along with Paredes, but they're not exactly the players you'd expect to help shore up our midfield against one of the best in the league and the continent in the final 20 minutes of the game. They may very well surprise us, but the international break that follows this giornata is going to be important as we need to get the above players (barring Strootman) back to fitness.

As for the game itself. Very, very even. The first that it's been in some time truly. I see it being low-scoring and even a bit scrappy at times. Chances will be a a premium and whoever takes their first will likely knick this one.

[Forza]

I'd love for Roma to win this.

[Lupi]

2-1 Roma won against rube
3-1 lost against roocchi

[Guest]

rocchi.... game destroyed single handedly by this guy

sorry for u guys!! keep fighting Romans!!! !

[Lupi]

[McLewis]

As always, I refuse to entertain conspiracy theories surrounding which team bought what refs unless there is hard evidence. Juve certainly benefited in the end from Rocchi's horror show, but we just as easily could've to and the tables could be turned. I just look at the game and what transpired on the pitch.

We need to keep our heads though. This definitely rattled Juve and though their fans will likely not admit it, this put fear in them. No team has come to that stadium and dominated them in spells like that except for Inter a couple seasons back. We need to take heart in what we've learned from this game. This season is our best chance at getting the scudetto. We have the talent, the grinta, and the depth to do it and today proved that. I also think this means quite a bit for our trip to Bayern as if we're able to walk into the Etihad and Juventus Stadium and score 3 goals, I am confident we'll have our chances at the Allianz.

I felt all of our players did their best, even Skorupski, who had a pretty poor game honestly. Nainggolan's clearly tired and his energy levels weren't what they normally were until his adrenaline went through the roof when the game got heated. Manolas really stood out back there, but his anger got the better of him with Morata. We have to remember he's a young lad so he's going to be prone to this when riled up. He's gotta have thicker skin.

We have to forget about this game now. The international break comes at the right time and we need to heal ourselves physically and mentally.

This was not a title decider and Juve have won nothing, but 3 point at the beginning of a very long season. They still have to play us at the Olimpico and on evidence today, I really fancy our chances.

[narbeZ]

Hours after the match ended and im still mad as can be. This particular incident bothered me the most.



Such horsesh%$. That's some nasty Karma for Juve today.

[Lupi]

Totti : "This was a match we really cared about, but Juventus ought to have their own League, as by hook or by crook they always win"

[Lupi]

Juventus Roma 3 2, Marco Travaglio on the penalty awarded by Gianluca Rocchi: "I was not ashamed this much from the time of Moggi"

http://www.huffingtonpost.it/2014/10/06/juventus-roma-rigore-travaglio_n_5938950.html

[Blue]

Tbh watching this game remained me so much of the Chelsea vs United game, where Clattenburg refereed the game. Absolutely horrid referring.

[McLewis]

Thoughts on this match, lads?

Mighty impressive first 30 minutes. We made the right statement with this win and Juve drawing Sassuolo only strengthens our claim that we are just as good if not better than them this season.

No Gervinho, Keita or Manolas didn't faze us at all, which speaks to the depth and quality this side have.

Onto Bayern then.

[Lupi]

best strategy that we could possibly use, score goals early and hold the game to the end also managed to give rest to gervinho and iturbe. The only player that could have used some rest was ninja even though he had hell of a game but there was no other option.

[McLewis]

So we didn't obliterate Samp like we needed to to put that CL loss behind us. If anything, Samp was in that match to the very end as we failed to capitalize on our chances. I'm still not sure this is a mental issue. Samp are 3rd in Serie A and have one of the stingiest defenses around. They're just a really good side.

As for us, I think fitness levels had more to do with this draw than any possible mental problems though it will be noted that this is the first time we've failed to win immediately after a loss. Either way, we need to bounce back next weekend as a win going into our return leg with Bayern will give us some much needed confidence for that one.

A point's a point, but this one will no doubt feel like a loss, especially since Juve have already capitalized on it by brushing aside Palermo.

[Lupi]

terrible game really one dimensional, 65%+ possession yet very few real chance. Garcia said something about poor quality of The turf at Marassi but in general sounded happy with a point. Injuries again that's not new even last year in nov we has similar problems now CL added to it. cant be too critical because there is not much he could do especially with the game in midweek.

[McLewis]

Going to use this threat to track all of our Serie A games as it's become a bit of a chore to create a separate thread for every game. Going to merge all other Serie A game threads into this one.

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