Following a dramatic 2-2 draw against Salernitana on home soil last weekend, Roma did one worse on Saturday. Without Jose Mourinho on the touchline, Giallorossi slumped to a dreadful 2-1 defeat to Hellas Verona at the Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi.
Rui Patricio’s rookie mistake only four minutes in gifted Marco Baroni’s side an early opener. Cyril Ngonge poured more misery on underperforming Roma on the cusp of halftime, putting Giallorossi in a near-impossible situation going into the second half.
Roma pulled one back soon after the break as Andrea Belotti linked up with summer addition Houssem Aouar, who opened his Serie A account to give the visitors hope. It looked like Mourinho’s side could avoid defeat when Isak Hien picked up a straight red late in the game.
However, Roma failed to do anything meaningful down the final stretch, eventually heading home empty-handed. Despite conceding twice, Gianluca Mancini was one of the best Giallorossi performers. But he’s aware of the depth of the problem he and his teammates are in after only two league matches.
“It is a difficult start, we struggled today, and it is clear that seeing Roma with one point after two rounds is unacceptable,” Mancini said in the aftermath, as relayed by Tuttomercatoweb.
Roma will have a week to regroup before encountering high-flying Milan at the Stadio Olimpico. Unlike Giallorossi, Stefano Pioli’s were relentless on Saturday night, trouncing Torino 4-1 at San Siro to maintain a 100% season start.
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