Roma secured a vital win 3-1 in the League as they aim to secure the tickets for 12km. All thanks to Nicolò Zaniolo came off the bench and changed the game. The youngster won, winning two penalties converted by Lorenzo Pellegrini and scoring the third, but Ludogorets can feel hard done by for their disallowed equaliser.
The Giallorossi needed only a win that would only a win would keep them in the Europa League as runners-up to Real Betis. Otherwise, they’d drop down into the Conference League playoffs.
The hosts made a bright start when Lorenzo Pellegrini drilled his shot inches wide.
Thiago somehow failed to connect with the Bernard Tekpetey ball across the six-yard box in what would’ve been a tap-in.
Tekpetey was at it again when Chris Smalling deflected over his finish, and another fired just wide, while Pellegrini had a couple of efforts deflected past the post for corners.
Ludogorets were allowed several shots from the edge of the area, including one from Cauly that thumped the upright, so it was not entirely surprising when they took the lead as Rick ran centrally from his half and smashed a low drive into the near bottom corner from outside the box.
After a substantial performance during the first interval, Jose Mourinho got the result he wanted as Zaniolo, Bryan Cristante, and Cristian Volpato. They also came out with a different attitude, immediately forcing three saves in a minute with a Zaniolo effort charged down, the Stephan El Shaarawy follow-up parried by the goalkeeper. El Shaarawy again tested Sergio Padt at the near post.
After Tammy Abraham missed the opportunity to score again for Zaniolo, Zaniolo was clattered from behind by Cicinho for a clear penalty. He converted by giving the lead.
Zaniolo secured another penalty when the Bulgarian defense barged into him. The youngster was barged in the back by Verdon after he sprung the offside trap to run into the box, providing another penalty. Pellegrini changed corners and still sent the goalkeeper the wrong way.
Ludogorets thought they had restored parity when Tissera’s effort bounced off the back of Matias Vina and turned into an accidental assist for Gustavo Nonato. The referee disallowed it after a VAR on-field review for a very soft Rick arm catching Ibanez in the face in the build-up.
To keep the result safe, Roma added the third. After Bryan Cristante won the ball back in midfield, Zaniolo squirmed between two defenders, shrugged off a third, and prodded the finish through the legs of the on-rushing goalkeeper.
Written by Oladipupo Mojeed
