Artem Dovbyk scored for the third game in a row, but Roma ran out of steam and conceded a late Aitor Paredes equaliser for the 1-1 Europa League draw with Athletic Club.
The Giallorossi fired coach Daniele De Rossi eight days ago and beat Udinese 3-0 on their Ivan Juric debut on Sunday. With Lorenzo Pellegrini, Enzo Le Fée and Alexis Saelemaekers injured, Mario Hermoso got his first start, with Manu Koné and Tommaso Baldanzi also stepping in. Nico Williams was only fit for the Athletic Club bench, with Oihan Sancet left at home, but Julien Agirrezebala shook off a knock to start.
See how it unfolded on the Liveblog.
The Curva Sud continued their protest against the club by jeering players and staying silent in the opening 15 minutes.
Gorka Guruzeta and Inaki Williams couldn’t keep their finish on target after springing the offside trap on balls floated over the top, while Aitor Paredes turned a free header over from a corner.
Goalkeeper Agirrezebala sprinted off his line to deny Artem Dovbyk one-on-one from a long pass, then Paulo Dybala go the volley wrong on an Angelino knockdown.
After a long period of Roma pressure, they took the lead when Angelino floated a cross from the left for the head of Dovbyk at the far post, nodding it into the ground back across the goalkeeper.
Roma take the lead against Athletic Bilbao 🔥
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/SHhkPtv4CB
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) September 26, 2024
Unai Gomez didn’t get enough power on the finish from the edge of the area and substitute Matias Soulé pounced on an Aitor Paredes stumble only to sting the goalkeeper’s gloves.
Spain’s EURO 2024 star Nico Williams came off the bench at the hour mark and Saud Abdilhamid made his debut for Roma, as Athletic pinned the hosts back with Inaki Williams firing over.
The pressure had been growing and the visitors equalised late on when Alex Berenguer’s free kick was knocked back by Unai Gomez for the Aitor Paredes header from six yards.
Athletic Bilbao have a LATE equaliser against Roma! ⏱️⚽️
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/4MaNFEzjXQ
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) September 26, 2024
Roma 1-1 Athletic
Dovbyk 32 (R), A Paredes 85 (A)
Player statistic
| Artem Dovbyk (Assist: Angeliño) |
 |
32' | ||
| Manu Koné |  |
44' | ||
| 44' | |
Andoni Gorosabel |
| 56' | |
Yuri Berchiche | ||
| Tommaso Baldanzi | |
62' | ||
| 83' | |
Óscar de Marcos | ||
| 85' | |
Aitor Paredes (Assist: Unai Núñez) |
And who was supposed to be marking the goalscorer?
Why it was Bryan Cristante of course!
Results will never improve when he plays every week.