EMPOLI (edited by Marco Pieracci)
Vicar 5.5 – He is the goalkeeper with the most saves in the championship, this time he conveys a sense of helplessness in the face of the Giallorossi hailstorm.
Fiamozzi 5 – Stojanovic’s forfeit in extremis gives him an unexpected showcase. He is swept away by the accelerations of Rome.
Ismajli 5 – He takes the place of Vicar, sacrificing himself with the body on the sure shot of Zaniolo. It will only serve to limit the liabilities.
Tonelli 4,5 – He gets hard on Zaniolo but fails to intimidate him. He always comes late on Abraham, who never manages to anticipate.
Mark 5 – Against the team in which he was formed he runs into a bad night, to be forgotten. He leaves the pitch with an injury that seems serious. From 42 ‘ Year 6 – He enters cold, being adapted as a full-back. He does not miss anything, also supporting the offensive maneuver.
Zurkowski 5,5 – He runs a lot, often and willingly empty. In the first half he was shredded by Mourinho‘s midfield. It grows when the rhythms drop.
Ricci 5,5 – Risks at the start when he is attacked high by Mkhitaryan. He tries to come out with the dribble in the second half but today he is not in the right mood.
Bandinelli 6 – He starts strong, dirtying Rui Patricio’s gloves and always stays connected inside the game. The goal was born from one of his initiatives.
Henderson 5,5 – Together with Bajrami on the trocar to make Pinamonti feel a little less alone. He moves well without the ball but misses a penalty kick in motion.
Bajrami 6.5 – He scares Rome with his imagination and a conclusion that almost frames the goal. He will find it later with the help of Mancini.
Pinamonti 6,5 – Watched by Smalling, Andreazzoli asks him to come and meet him. Few playable balls, he throws Bandinelli’s homage behind Rui Patricio.
Aurelio Andreazzoli 5.5 – Faithful to the line that led him to climb the rankings, he does not disavow his creed by keeping the defense high but with the formidable Giallorossi counter-attackers it is a gamble that risks paying dearly. But the reaction, albeit facilitated by the decline of Roma, is positive.
ROMA
Rui Patricio 6 – Without Bandinelli’s shot, in the first half he plays the role of non-paying spectator. On the two Empoli goals he has little responsibility, in the second half he makes a couple of decisive interventions that avoid the worst.
Mancini 6,5 – The best of the defensive line, also finds the goal but the ball crossed the line in the previous action. Unfortunate deviation on Bajrami, but overall he keeps the ranks compact in the moment of greatest effort.
Smalling 5,5 – If in the first fraction he has nothing to do, in the second half he suffers the offensive gusts of the hosts. A couple of decisive flaws.
Ibanez 6 – It takes an extra bit of mischief. In some situations he loses bloody balls, but he makes up for it by slamming the door in the face of the Empoli midfielders.
Karsdorp 5,5 – Light on Bandinelli in the action of Pinamonti’s goal, he does not push consistently. He dances defensively, pretty good when he has to sink to the right. But you see very little.
Cristante 6,5 – He rips balls and dirty trajectories, shouts and cheers his team when the situation gets complicated. With Sergio Oliveira next to him, he remembers the De Rossi-Pizarro duo.
Sergio Oliveira 7 – He took Roma within a few days. Not only the goal, the second consecutive in Serie A, but it has also become a certainty in the moment of greatest difficulty: he snatches possession and starts dribbling, extinguishing Empoli’s dreams of comeback. And in his movements he remembers the Chilean who made Rome dream ten years ago.
Maitland-Niles 6,5 – When it finds space on the left it becomes impregnable, with a couple of revs it sends the rear guard into crisis. He infuriates Mourinho with some ball played sufficiently in the second half, the change becomes inevitable. From 59 ‘Vina 6 – More consistency than the former Arsenal, it helps the rearguard to find the right balance.
Mkhitaryan 7 – It finds its natural habitat on the trocar, an area where it can give vent to its characteristics. He does not score, but invents balls between the lines. From 75 ‘Veretout 6 – It is quite far from his standards, but he acts as a filter and concedes little to the plays of Henderson and his teammates.
Zaniolo 7 – When he rips he is one of the best, the problem is with consistency. Back to score after the goal from Bergamo, in the second half he is the only one who tries to slam. From 79 ‘Afena-Gyan sv.
Abraham 8 – In the end it came in double figures. Sweaty double and loudly requested, he smiles and continues to drag a Roma that is currently leaning on his goals. There are 17 goals this season in 30 matches, not bad for someone who has been in Italy for six months.
Jose Mourinho 7 – In the first half his team is a steamroller and plays wonderfully, in the second half they have a fairly heavy decline. Remove the ghosts of Rome-Juventus to the sound of shouting, his people understand the trend and lock up the score.
