AS Roma missed an important step toward qualifying for the Champions League: in their home game against rivals Juventus, the Giallorossi squandered a 3-1 lead. In stoppage time, substitute Gatti struck a blow to the hosts’ hearts.
Will the iconic Champions League anthem ring out again at the Olimpico next season? AS Roma are currently doing a lot to make that happen. On Sunday evening, the Giallorossi were close to securing their 17th win in 27 league games in a spectacular exchange of blows with Juventus, but failed to hold on to a two-goal lead.
Exactly one week after the 3-0 win against Cremona, Gian Piero Gasperini sent three former Bundesliga pros, Ndicka, Koné, and Malen, onto the pitch from the start. It was actually more exciting to see how Luciano Spalletti’s Juventus would react to the Champions League setback against Galatasaray (elimination in the play-offs).
Early double chance goes unused
However, the home side had the first big double chance of the game, but neither Pisilli nor Pellegrini could get the ball past Perin (3′). Juventus had much more possession, but lacked precision in the final third – as was the case with Yildiz in the 12th minute. Roma, lying in wait on the counterattack, had the better chances: Mancini set up the new crowd favorite Malen, but he failed to beat Perin from five yards out (24′).
Juventus almost took the lead after half an hour, but McKennie’s header flew centimeters past the left post (33′). At the other end, Wesley curled the ball superbly into the top right corner (39′).
Juve seemed unfazed by the setback, however, and came out of the dressing room with a plan. Francisco Conceicao made the first statement with a long-range strike into the top left corner (47′). Yildiz almost turned the game around completely five minutes later.
Out of nowhere, however, Roma, who had been erratic after the break, struck again: Ndicka finished off a short corner in the middle (54′). With half an hour to go, the decisive moment came: former Gladbach player Koné sent a superb vertical ball to ex-Dortmund player Malen, who coolly lobbed Perin (65′).
Spalletti brings on two goalscorers
However, Roma finally stopped playing in the final quarter of an hour and fell into a completely unnecessary passivity. After a cross from the right, the ball slipped through to Joker Boga at the far post, who made it 2-3 (78′). And Spalleti was to prove his golden touch once again: After a free kick from the right half of the field and a header from McKennie, the ball fell at the feet of Gatti, who had come on as a substitute just five minutes earlier, and he coolly made it 3-3 (90+3).
Roma thus remain four points ahead of Juventus, a lead that could easily have been increased to seven points. Instead, the gap has shrunk to just three points, even behind surprise team Como. This makes the Giallorossi’s away game at CFC Genoa next Sunday (6 p.m.) all the more important. The night before (8:45 p.m.), Juve will host second-to-last Pisa.
