Pellegrini Scores Brace as Roma Give Salernitana Tough Serie A Lesson

Italian Football, Roma, Salernitana, Serie A

For the first time since 1999, the historically-rich city of Salerno hosted a Serie A fixture, as Salernitana welcomed Roma to the Arechi Stadium. Following an incredibly uneventful first half marked by the hosts’ ultra-defensive display, the capital side put on a marvelous second half performance, scoring four thrilling goals in the process.

Fabrizio Castori adopted a 3-5-1-1 formation, spearheaded by Federico Bonazzoli, with Joel Obi playing just behind him. Wejdi Kechrida and Matteo Ruggeri took the wingback roles, with Mamadou Coulibaly, Francesco Di Tacchio and Lassano Coulibaly playing in the middle.

On the other hand, José Mourinho maintained his 4-2-3-1 lineup with Tammy Abraham leading the line. The Englishman was supported by Carles Perez (who replaced the suspended Nicolò Zaniolo), Lorenzo Pellegrini and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, whilst Bryan Cristante and Jordan Veretout started in the double pivot.

The first 15 minutes of the match saw several half chances for the capital with none of them too threatening for the southerners’ goal. Gianluca Mancini’s deflected shot found Abraham, but the striker’s volley went too high.

The rest of the first period witnessed the same story, with the Giallorossi completely dominating possession – 85% during the first half according to FotMob – whilst the Granata were happy to put nine men behind the ball and defend their ground. This resulted in a total of zero dangerous chances between the two sides.

One worrying incident took place in the first half. During an air duel, Bonazzoli inexplicably ended up hitting Roger Ibanez in the face. The Roma defender was thankfully fine after receiving some treatment on the pitch, and the Salernitana striker can count himself lucky for escaping with only a yellow card.

Luckily for the neutral viewer, the start of the second half bore the goods. Matias Vina found Pellegrini with a cross. The captain took his shot from a narrow angle but the power took it past Vid Belec.

Few minutes later, Roma doubled the score with some marvelous one-touch-football between Carles Perez, Abraham, Mkhitaryan and finally Veretout who ended the movement with his third goal of the season. One would think that Pep Guardiola is in charge of this side rather than his old nemesis Mourinho.

The hosts almost got one back when Obi’s pass found Bonazzoli inside the box with the goal at his mercy, but his shot whistled past the post.

Almost at the hour mark, Belec pulled off a brilliant double save. Rick Karsdorp’s cross from the right was met by Abraham’s header, but the Salernitana shot-stopper parried it away, and Mkhitaryan was on the rebound for Roma. The Armenian found Veretout on the edge of the box, and the former Fiorentina man sent a beautiful curler towards the top corner but the goalkeeper flew to deny him.

In the 70th minute, it was time for Abraham to open his Serie A account. The former Chelsea man was fed by Carles Perez, and he made no mistake inside the box, sending his strike towards the top left corner, allowing the Romans to put the match to bed.

And yet, the visitors weren’t done yet, as Pellegrini completed his personal brace. Veretout chased a loose ball and served his captain who found the back of the net with a lovely curler that left Belec stranded.

At the end of the day, Salernitana paid the price for their negative approach, as despite their first half resistance, they had nothing to offer when Roma opened the floodgates after the break. The final result tells the whole story of the hosts’ disappointing performance.

Read More – What Cristiano Ronaldo’s Departure Means for Juventus and for Serie A

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