AS Roma continue to make progress, with even a place in the Champions League no longer out of reach. This time, the defense, with Hummels, goalkeeper Svilar and match winner Dovbyk, played a decisive role in the 1-0 win at basement-dwellers Lecce.
After six consecutive league wins, AS Roma traveled to the 16th of the Serie A – US Lecce – with the clear goal of collecting the next three points. To achieve this, coach Claudio Ranieri made three changes from the side that beat Cagliari Calcio 1-0 in their last game. Hummels, Cristante and Pellegrini started instead of Rensch (not in the squad), Paredes and Baldanzi (both on the bench).
The hosts came into the game at the Via del Mare with four defeats in a row, which put them in the middle of the relegation battle. Their coach Marco Giampaolo also made three changes after the 2-1 defeat at CFC Genoa. Kialonda Gaspar, Ramadani and Karlsson replaced Jean, Berisha and Tete Morente (all on the bench).
Roma miss two great chances
But the first half did not necessarily show that the signs before the game had seemed so different. Although the Giallorossi should have taken the lead after just ten minutes, Angelino failed to score into the empty net. Koné had the next chance to take the lead on 11 minutes, but he failed miserably against Lecce goalkeeper Falcone.
After that, however, the hosts found their feet better and better and even had good chances to take the lead with Gallo (36th), who was frustrated by a strong reaction from AS goalkeeper Svilar, and Krstovic (40th, blocked by Hummels). Thus, the 0-0 at half-time was quite acceptable, even though Roma had left a lot to be desired in the opening minutes.
Dovbyk redeems the capital city team
The first few minutes of the second half were characterized by intense duels, with neither team getting dangerously close to the goal. It wasn’t until the 60th minute that Krstovic almost caught goalkeeper Svilar off guard after simply shooting at the halfway line. But the ball went just wide of the goal.
It was Dovbyk who had the next good chance for Roma, but his shot was cleared by Falcone (64′). Shortly after, the ball suddenly ended up in the net of the home team: after a corner, Mancini got to the ball at the right post and pushed it into the net. But the defender was offside.
In the 80th minute, Dovbyk finally released the capital city with the 1-0. In and around the box, the Ukrainian robustly and cleverly prevailed against two opponents and then scored dryly into the lower right corner. Shortly thereafter, he had the 2-0 on the foot, but this time Falcone was on the spot.
Series remain in place
Lecce tried everything again after that, but they didn’t get in front again. Instead, Shomurodov even had the chance to make it 2-0 in injury time (90.+5). Claudio Ranieri’s team picked up their seventh win in a row in the league (with only one goal conceded), while Lecce continued their losing streak. The US will host Venice next Sunday (12:30 p.m.) and Roma will face Juventus Turin at the same time (8:45 p.m.) at the Olimpico in the direct battle for the Champions League places.
