Serenity returns to Roma, but for how long?

Published on: 25 February 2020

All was well on the red and yellow side of the Italian capital on Saturday night as Roma put in a thoroughly impressive performance during their 4-0 victory over Lecce.

Edin Dzeko and Henrikh Mkhitaryan were at their absolute best, as both notched a goal and assist. For the Bosnian it was his 12th Serie A goal, with the only blemish being that he could and should have had more.

Considering he fired nine shots on goal, it’s hard to believe he only managed one solitary strike considering how open Lecce were at the back.

As for the Armenian, only injuries have slowed him down given he’s been influential every time he’s stepped on the pitch. With five goals in just 12 Serie A appearances, Mkhitaryan has what it takes to help a Roma attack that has largely relied on Dzeko to lead the way.

However, with so much of his time in the capital having been spent on the treatment table, Roma would be wise to consider everything – good and bad – the Armenian brings to the table if they try to land him permanently from Manchester United.

While the attack made the headlines, perhaps more importantly for Paulo Fonseca moving forward is the fact that the Lupi finished the match with a clean sheet – a rare occurrence so far this season.

Saturday was Roma’s first clean sheet since December 6, 2019 – an astonishing statistic to consider for a side pushing for a spot in the Champions League.

Even more amazing is that the win was their first in Serie A on home soil in 2020.

All this highlights just how poor things have gone for Roma recently. It all started to go south after their win over Fiorentina on December 20. The score in that match?

4-1. The last time Roma scored four goals in a match prior to Saturday.

Thus Fonseca and his men will have to do all that they can to make sure they don’t fall into the same shortcomings that have hindered them since then.

Next on the docket is a trip to Sardinia to take on Cagliari, a proposition that would have looked more daunting earlier in the season given the Isolani are winless in their last nine Serie A matches.

If Roma are serious about achieving their goals this campaign, it’s a match they absolutely have to win. If not, then at least we’ll all know that Saturday’s performance against Lecce was the exception rather than the norm.

Source: forzaitalianfootball.com

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