Roma, coached by Portuguese coach José Mourinho – who was not on the bench, serving the first of two match suspensions for red card in the 15th round match against Turin on 13 November – and with Rui Patrício as owner – on goal and playing full 90′, this Wednesday afternoon he beat Bologna 1-0, in a match valid for the 16th day of Serie A played at the Stadio Olimpico, in the Italian capital.
With the Giallorossi led, on the bench, by assistant Salvatore Foti – Mourinho will still miss his presence on the bench on matchday 17, against Milan, at San Siro – everything was soon decided in favor of the team from the capital, in a by Lucumi on the Argentinian Paulo Dybala in the away penalty area (5′), a penalty converted by Lorenzo Pellegrini in the 1-0 (6′), which proved to be the final result of a match in which Roma succeeded and the Bologna, when it wanted to take over and react, did very little.
In the first half in which Rui Patrício was a spectator, Mancini nearly made it 2-0 in the 17th minute – with Zaniolo again deflecting and deceiving Bologna’s Polish goalkeeper, Skorupski -, and midfielder Bryan Cristante (ex Benfica, in 2014 / 15) also squandered a good chance, shooting weakly and at the visitors’ goalkeeper, who started this round in 11th place in the standings and continue to add the same 19 points, while Roma now total 30 points.
The formation from the Italian capital could have solved everything and put an end to the emotion before the interval – with Zaniolo kicking high from Pellegrini’s corner (44′) – but also immediately after the restart, with Skorupski once again hindering the attempts by Zaniolo himself (48′). And only in the 49th minute did Bologna risk a goal from Rui Patrício, with a cross/shot from Dominguez that grazed the crossbar.
Lots of heart, better organization and coldness from the hosts, while Bologna showed very few offensive arguments to ‘tickle’ a Roma who have only occasionally justified their claim, after winning the UEFA Conference League in 2021/22, to now reach the top 4′ of the Serie A standings and access to the Champions League in 2023/24.
In the end, already in injury time, a double scare for Roma, with cuts from Smalling and Abraham to avoid Bologna’s 1-1 draw and keep the lead and the three points, which would be unfair for Roma, who win the match. moves to sixth place in the standings… but lost Zaniolo, due to injury. In the ongoing disciplinary controversy, Mourinho excluded the Dutch Karsdorp from the squad and promoted the debut in the team of the young (19-year-old) Swedish midfielder Benjamin Tahirovic, after having already been used for a few minutes, as a used substitute, against Turin ( Matchday 15, November 13, 2022).
After three consecutive days without a win in the league in the farewell to 2022, Roma recovered ground and spirit today, even without Mourinho on the bench. A tough test followed, at the Giuseppe Meazza, with Milan… and again with Salvatore Foti at the helm of the team, with José Mourinho still serving the disqualification on the 17th day.
We recall here the main episodes of the meeting in the Italian capital, in which José Mourinho, serving the first of two matches of suspension after being sent off against Torino..
