Keys to Victory: Demolition job brings Europe closer

Roma Women went into the last international break of the season in a very healthy position thanks to a 7-1 win over Verona at the weekend, which has tightened their grip on second place.

Sunday’s encounter saw Roma extend their impressive unbeaten run, maintaining a five-point gap in the second Champions League spot with three games of the league season to go.

Having not tasted defeat in Serie A Femminile since the middle of October, the ultimate reward is becoming more tangible. That said, there is still work to pick up after the break concludes.

But if they approach their last few fixtures in a similar style to how they did against Verona, they should set themselves up for success step by step.

These are the themes that emerged from that most recent of victories.

Key Player

The first name that would spring to mind from a victory including seven goals would not normally be someone who didn’t score or assist any of them. But reading between the lines, the influence of Giada Greggi on the result could not go without recognition.

Despite her lack of goal or assist, the midfielder actually made the pass before the assist for four of Roma’s goals. Furthermore, she also won the ball back at the start of the passage of play that led to their seventh.

First, her excellent through ball set Benedetta Glionna on her way to cross for Milica Mijatovic for Roma’s second goal.

Next, with a momentum-maintaining pass, she set up Paloma Lazaro to assist Andressa Alves for the goal that made it 3-0.

For the next goal, Greggi was involved in a one-two with Joyce Borini, whose cross was finished by Lazaro. And for Roma’s sixth, Greggi once again laid it off for Borini, this time in a deeper territory, whose aerial launch then picked out scorer Glionna.

Although none of the goals or assists were her own, upon closer inspection it was clear to see how Greggi played a significant part in the win. That’s without even mentioning the intensity she brought to the midfield, allowing Roma to overturn possession in their favour and keep it in their control.

The Rome-born star has patiently worked her way back into the side this season after an injury lay-off last term, and Sunday’s performance showed her back in full stride.

Key Moment

There were many to choose from, but from a team perspective, perhaps the pick of the bunch out of Roma’s seven goals (the most, incidentally, they have scored in a league game since November 2018) was that finished off by Lazaro.

The in-form Spanish striker marked her 50th appearance in style with an aerial strike, but what made the goal special was the way the team used the ball in the build-up.

Roma had been keeping the ball well in their own half, before a long ball forward from Elena Linari was headed by an opponent into the path of Andressa Alves.

From there, a chain of six passes leading to a goal – their most out of the seven strikes – began.

Andressa brought the ball under control and played it to Elisa Bartoli on her right, who recovered from a heavy touch to cut back in and lay it off for Manuela Giugliano. In turn, the midfielder kept things ticking over by quickly picking out Borini on the left.

The wing-back outdid her marker via a one-two with Greggi before a well-arched cross fell for Lazaro in the middle, allowing the striker to connect well in the air and find the bottom corner.

The move showed Roma in full flow from one end of the pitch to the other, where a reliable finisher was waiting to deliver once again.

And with 22 goals from her half-century of Roma appearances, Lazaro has the highest goals-to-game ratio of any player to have started at least 10 games for the club so far.

Key Decision

Playing against a lower-calibre opponent allowed Alessandro Spugna to introduce some players who aren’t as far into their Roma careers.

For example, at the interval, Borini came on to replace Lucia Di Guglielmo on the left flank. It marked just a fifth Roma appearance – and third in Serie A – for the summer signing.

The experienced Brazilian had a greater impact than in any of her previous cameos, thanks to her assists for the goals scored by Lazaro and Glionna.

Another player to benefit from Roma being in a healthy position was an even more recent recruit, Sophie Roman Haug. The striker came on in the 65th minute and went on to get an assist for Valeria Pirone, who later returned the favour so she could score her own first goal for the club.

It demonstrates the increasing squad depth that Roma have been building, which has allowed them to compete right up to the closing stages of the season.

Everyone played their part to keep that momentum going in the 7-1 win.

Key Fact

To get to such a point of being able to comfortably make changes, though, Roma had to put the foundations in place by building an early lead – and they had done so via Mijatovic.

One of the most recent additions to the squad, the attacker was making her first start for the club on her fifth appearance. Within 10 minutes, she scored with a clean aerial strike, and less than a quarter of an hour after that, she doubled the tally with a powerful header.

In doing so, Mijatovic became the first ever Roma Women player to score more than once on her first start for the side.

Her goals were not simple either; in fact, her opener was voted the best goal of the week in Serie A Femminile.

Although not yet ready to complete 90 minutes – and therefore denied the chance to record a hat-trick – Mijatovic had shown some promising signs within her performance.

“It’s a win we needed as we look to reach the Champions League,” she said after the game.

“We want to qualify and to do that we need to finish the season strongly. We want to win the last three [league] games.

“That's our first target, then after that we want to go as far as we can in the Coppa Italia. We have another big semi-final game coming up.”

As she summarised, the business end of the season is looming for after the current break. Roma will hope to continue the momentum they have built to get over the line and reach their targets.

Follow Samuel Bannister on Twitter: @SamBanno1