Sinners & Saints: Juventus 2, Roma 1

If yesterday’s match had been against any other club, we could say the result was disappointing. However, given the historic imbalance between Roma and Juventus, a 2-1 loss to the Old Lady on the road was hardly surprising—some might even say it was expected. 

While we still believe Gian Piero Gasperini has Roma heading in the right direction, he can’t reverse the course of history. Seasons change, and managers and players come and go, but Roma’s bugaboo against Juve persists. When you add their recent performances against the rest of the northern clubs, Roma’s status as a genuine top-four contender becomes suspect.

With eight days before their next match against Daniele De Rossi’s Genoa, our frustrations will subside, but for now, don’t expect too many halos following this loss.

The Sinners

Matías Soulé/Paulo Dybala

We’re going to lump the two Argentine attackers together because they committed the same sins against Juventus. While neither player committed any egregious errors, they were ineffective in a match that was screaming for their creative contributions. 

Soulé was noticeably absent during his 55-minute runout against Juve, failing to register a single shot on goal. While he did generate three shot-creating actions, they weren’t high-quality chances, producing 0.0 xG. His lack of creativity, progression, and relatively poor control resulted in one of Soulé’s worst performances of the season.

In a similar vein, Dybala simply couldn’t crack Juve’s defense, firing off three shots that barely troubled Michele Di Gregorio.

Bryan Cristante

At this point, if we’re collecting evidence of Cristante’s shortcomings, we may have to start cataloging them in scientific notation. In 90 minutes against Juve, Cristante was a step too slow in transition, lost seven of eleven ground duels, and too often halted any momentum Roma was building in attack. 

And while he racked up a fair amount of progressive passing distance, you can’t shake the feeling that he’s, I don’t know, not intense enough for Gasperini’s approach. Maybe if football had a volleyball-style libero position where Cristante could stay in a limited space and focus solely on long passing, he’d earn more shine, but he frequently looks miscast under Gasp. 

The Saints

Mile Svilar

Yes, Roma lost the match while conceding two goals (a now astounding 20% of their season total), but Svilar was far and away the Giallorossi’s best player yesterday. Svilar faced nine shots on goal and made seven saves, including a sensational double save on Kenan Yildiz and Francisco Conceição in the 52/53 minute. The two goals he did concede owed more to Roma’s poor defensive performance than to any shortcoming on Svilar’s part.

Wesley

With four shot-creating actions, two key passes, eight defensive actions, and 11 duels won, Wesley did a bit of everything against Juventus. While he didn’t impact the bottom line, he was one of the few consistent threats for Roma yesterday. 

Manu Koné

The French midfielder continued to show his value yesterday. In 90 minutes, Koné created three shot attempts, didn’t miss a single pass, played nine balls into the final third, and completed a match-high 15 progressive passes. He also went a perfect four-for-four on tackles and added six defensive actions overall.

He was a wrecking ball in all phases of the game, looking a class above most of his teammates.

Tommaso Baldanzi

Hey, he scored Roma’s only goal, so we have to at least toss him a bone!

Stuck in Between

Jan Ziółkowski

Thrust into the starting lineup after Mario Hermoso’s late scratch, the 20-year-old Polish defender used his pace and long limbs to disrupt multiple Juve attacks, including a pair of impressive slide tackles that erased space in an almost Wemby-like fashion. He also recorded the second-most progressive passing distance among Roma’s outfield players, but his marking of Juve’s match-winner left a bit to be desired. Still, this was a very encouraging performance from the young center-back, who seems to have the requisite skills, temperament, and playing style to succeed under Gasperini. 

Devyne Rensch

The Dutch defender, making only his 6th league appearance of the season, had a quiet but effective night for the Giallorossi: six clearances, six recoveries, one interception, and one key block on Lois Openda in the 43rd minute. I suspect his ceiling is slightly higher than this, but he’s proven to be an effective rotation option during his first full season with the club.