Roma thrashed Chelsea 3-0 at the Stadio Olimpico to move above the Premier League champions into top spot in Group C.
The Giallorossi now have their destiny very much in their own hands, and Football Italia rates their efforts this evening.
Words: Tom Scholes
Alisson – 7
Roma thrashed Chelsea 3-0 at the Stadio Olimpico to move above the Premier League champions into top spot in Group C.
The Giallorossi now have their destiny very much in their own hands, and Football Italia rates their efforts this evening.
Words: Tom Scholes
Alisson – 7
Going by the scoreline, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Alisson didn’t have too much to deal with, but in the first half he made some really important saves from Alvaro Morata and Eden Hazard when the score was still 1-0. The Brazilian has been putting in some top performances lately, yet has flown under the radar, much to the delight of the Roma fans.
Alessandro Florenzi — 7
When Florenzi is fully fit, he can be one of the best attacking right-backs in the world, adding so much to an already exciting Giallorossi side. As for tonight, he teamed up very well with Stephan El Shaarawy. His energy and fitness meant that he could bomb up and down the flank, something that caused Chelsea problems all game.
Federico Fazio – 6
In the first 20 odd minutes of this game, I thought Fazio was going to struggle against a Chelsea attack that looked like it was planning to come inside and test his pace.
After some scares with Hazard and Morata trying to get past, the former Tottenham man stood firm and grew into the game. He defended any Chelsea attack well and showed that when he is in control of a game, he can be a wonderful player.
Juan Jesus – 6
Much like his partner Fazio, Juan Jesus wasn’t at the top of his game straight away tonight, but he dealt with any Chelsea offense with relative ease.
He didn’t panic under pressure and didn’t let Morata into the game as often as he’d have liked. Much in the second half, the Roma back line didn’t have much pressure on them, meaning Jesus and Fazio had quite a straightforward game.
Aleksandar Kolarov – 7
Once again, the Serbian showed the continent why he has been one of the best buys throughout the top 5 leagues. He has been superb this season and tonight was no different, providing some really important passes for some of the build up in the Roma goals.
Another outstanding game from a player who is really relishing the new role he’s been given as a veteran in this Roma side.
Daniele De Rossi – 5
The only negative from tonight is that De Rossi wasn’t exactly at his best, but when you’re up against a static Cesc Fabregas and a very wasteful Tiemoue Bakayoko, your job has been made a lot easier.
De Rossi wasn’t exactly mobile, and he didn’t add anything to the attacking side of the game, but his opponents being poor made his game easier.
Radja Nainggolan – 7
Whereas De Rossi wasn’t mobile and didn’t add much, Nainggolan was quite the opposite.
He was all over the pitch, winning the ball back with slide tackles and giving the ball to either the attackers or to Kevin Strootman. The Belgian’s energy completely caught Chelsea off guard, and they didn’t know how to deal with him at all meaning he was essentially allowed to do what he pleased on the ball with hardly anyone closing him down.
Kevin Strootman – 7
He may not have been as energetic as Nainggolan, but Strootman was instrumental in keeping the midfield ticking and letting Nainggolan provide the energy to win the ball back. Despite his injury problems, Strootman can still be a great deep-lying playmaker and can run the game alongside players who can do more running than he can, like tonight showed.
Stephan El Shaarawy – 9
Yes, he scored two wonderful goals but despite this, El Shaarawy was still superb going forward and had the Chelsea backline backing off at almost every occasion.
His finish for the first goal was very clever and caught Thibaut Courtois off guard and his anticipation for the Rudiger mistake on the second goal should be commended as well, but he was also instrumental in various other plays that didn’t result in a goal.
My Man of the Match tonight, for obvious reasons.
Edin Dzeko – 8
The Bosnian may not have scored tonight like he did at Stamford Bridge, but he was outstanding at holding the ball up and bringing the wingers into play.
His knockdown for the opener was inventive and clever, whilst his play to drag all three Chelsea central defenders away to play in Diego Perotti was excellent and will obviously go viral.
No goal for Dzeko, but he was still incredibly important to the team tonight.
Diego Perotti – 8
Everyone knows how good Perotti can be, and tonight was brilliant from his point of view.
He was a menace going forward and his goal was wonderful to watch because you knew early on what his intention was.
An outstanding performance as part of a deadly attacking trio, something that will no doubt catch the attention of many teams in the Champions League.