Roma played out a 1-1 draw with Premier League outfit Everton in their final pre-season friendly of the summer on Saturday evening; captain Lorenzo Pellegrini opened the scoring at Goodison Park.
Three of Daniele De Rossi’s summer signings were on show on Merseyside in Enzo Le Fee, Matias Soule and Artem Dovbyk. The latter struggled to get going in his first ‘proper’ run-out for the Giallorossi, but the former two made a decent impression on the press.
Le Fee and goalkeeper Mile Svilar were singled out for individual praise by La Gazzetta dello Sport, while Soule contributed with a fine through ball over the top for Pellegrini to tuck away in the first half.
It was a strong Roma line-up that De Rossi had selected. Paulo Dybala was the only notable absentee. La Joya did come on in the second half though, to replace his compatriot, Soule.
Dovbyk had a chance to open his Roma account early on, but was denied by England international Jordan Pickford after just five minutes.
From there, it was a relatively lethargic affair. Roma, still trying to get to grips with their slightly adjusted system, had a handful of slips in them, but Everton were not able to capitalise on any of them.
Soule and Pellegrini broke the deadlock with six minutes of the first half remaining. The recent Juventus signing sent an inch-perfect ball over the top for the skipper to latch onto, before sending a cool finish past Pickford into the far corner from 12 yards out.
The hosts began to up the temp in the second period. Dominic Calvert-Lewin got them back into it around the hour mark, before a series of different shots were unleashed on Svilar’s goal.
Even after the introduction of Dybala and Tammy Abraham, Roma still lacked a bit of energy going forwards, and were unable to put themselves back ahead by full-time.
The Giallorossi will now turn their attention in the direction of Cagliari, who host De Rossi and his team in their first Serie A match of the season next Sunday.
Full-time: Everton 1-1 Roma
Pellegrini (R) 39′, Calvert-Lewin (E) 61′.
Roma (4-3-3): Svilar; Celik, Mancini, Ndicka, Angelino; Le Fee, Cristante, Pellegrini; Soule, Dovbyk, Zalewski.
Everton (4-3-2-1): Pickford; Coleman, Tarkowski, O’Brien, Mykolenko; Gana, Doucoure, Iroegbunam; Harrison, McNeil; Calvert-Lewin.
Si chiude la sfida di Goodison Park.#EvertonRoma finisce 1-1, in gol Pellegrini al 39’ e Calvert-Lewin al 61’.#ASRoma pic.twitter.com/uDleWT8byX
— AS Roma (@OfficialASRoma) August 10, 2024
Ieri la Roma era una delusione .la difesa, l’ attacco ,solo il portiere era bravo , I giocatori troppo lenti . Cosi non va bene.