Jose Mourinho knows well when a win is worth double. The 1-0 over Verona was one of those for many reasons and that’s why he huddled all the players after the final whistle to feed the team’s spirit.
Roma returned to winning ways after two games between Serie A and Europa League as Ola Solbakken’s first goal with the Giallorossi was enough for Jose Mourinho’s side to prevail over Verona.
Roma retake the third place and are on par with Milan after The Rossoneri and Lazio’s won in this round and they are two points clear off the fifth spot.
Old faces, new faces and a few were missing for Roma in their line-up. Rick Karsdorp returned to the team and played his first game since the altercation with Jose Mourinho back in November while Ola Solbakken made his first start since joining in January.
He was the only choice available for José Mourinho as Lorenzo Pellegrini was an unused substitute due to fitness issues and Paulo Dybala was left out of the squad because of the minor muscle injury he picked up Thursday in the Europa League.
The Norwegian turned this chance into gold, breaking the deadlock in the stoppage time of the first-half: Spinazzola found him deep into the penalty box with a back-heel pass and then he fired the ball past Verona keeper Lorenzo Montipò with a flashing left shoot drive into the far post.
It was a good performance overall for Verona and all things considered this loss is not so harmful as it has been only their second in the eight Serie A games they played in 2023.
The only bad news for Roma is that Tammy Abraham was forced off after 15 minutes due to a knock on his eye. The Englishman left the pitch in pain but he has then reassured about his conditions via Instagram.
He will be re-evaluated tomorrow to understand if he suffered major damage or not and if he can play on Thursday night in the Europa League second leg against RedBull Salzburg.
Player Ratings
Roma (3-4-2-1): Rui Patricio (6); Mancini (6.5), Smalling (6), Ibanez (6); Karsdorp (6), Cristante (6), Bove (6), Spinazzola (6.5); Solbakken (6.5), El Shaarawy (6.5); Abraham (-).
Substitutes: Belotti (6), Celik (6), Zalewski (6), Wijnaldum (-).
Verona (3-5-2): Montipó (6.5); Dawidowicz (6), Hien (6), Magnani (6); Depaoli (5.5), Duda (6), Tameze (5.5), Doig (5.5); Lazovic (5.5), Ngonge (5.5); Gaich (5).
Substitutes: Coppola (6), Braaf (5.5), Lasagna (5.5), Kallon (5.5)
Andrea Agostinelli | GIFN
