Roma suffered a 2-1 defeat away to champions-elect Napoli in a spectacular showdown at the Diego Maradona Stadium on Sunday night.
Victor Osimhen had put Napoli ahead in the first half with a wonderful goal, displaying excellent calmness and prowess with his finish. Jose Mourinho’s Roma put in an impressive display here and managed to equalize through Stephan El Shaarawy in the second half. However, Giovanni Simeone sent the Partenopei into raptures when he found a winner late on to secure the victory.
Roma will be pleased with their display and they managed to put in a valiant performance against Napoli but they were unable to take anything from the game nonetheless. So, here’s our Roma player ratings for their 2-1 defeat away to Napoli.
Roma: (3-4-2-1)
Rui Patricio – 6.5
Made a few decent stops throughout, saving down low to his right to deny Kvicha Kvaratskhelia early on. Called into action just after the hour mark, making a good save to deny a fierce strike by Hirving Lozano. Made a great save to deny Giacomo Raspadori late on to keep Roma in the game.
Gianluca Mancini – 5
Could have done more to help Nicola Zalewski to stop the cross from Kvara for the opener, taking a rather lackadaisical approach to his defending. Wasn’t at his best for this one.
Chris Smalling – 5.5
Looked decent in the air and also won a few headers from set-pieces for Roma which caused the Napoli defense some issues. Didn’t impose himself much on the game, however.
Roger Ibanez – 5
Got caught a little at points in the first half. Gave the ball away to Giovanni Di Lorenzo which led to a good chance and struggled against the pace of Hirving Lozano too.
Nicola Zalewski – 7.5
Wasn’t afraid to push on and support the attack but did struggle up against Kvaratskhelia defensively in the first half. Poor positioning in defense for the opener, allowing Kvara to get in behind and supply the cross for Osimhen. Teed up a good cross for El Shaarawy towards the back post shortly after the break and looked creative out wide. Found El Shaarawy once more for the equalizer with a fantastic cross towards the back post.
Bryan Cristante – 7
Good energy to his game as always and worked hard in the press, albeit at the expense of a couple of late challenges early on. Managed to hold his discipline in what was a solid display.
Nemanja Matic – 7.5
Looked good in possession over the course of the match, making a couple of nice forward passes into the Roma attack. Put in a strong performance, also doing well in his duels.
Leonardo Spinazzola – 6
Had a good strike on goal as Roma went in search for an equalizer towards the end of the first half but was denied by goalkeeper Alex Meret. Subbed off at the half for Stephan El Shaarawy.
Lorenzo Pellegrini 7
Created a few chances throughout as he looked to continue in his usual role as prime creator for the Giallorossi.
Paulo Dybala – 5
Picked the ball up in a few nice positions but wasn’t too influential here. Underwhelming performance.
Tammy Abraham – 5
Struggled to get involved in the attack and failed to display any link-up play which Roma were crying out for.
Substitutions
Stephan El Shaarawy – 7
Found the equalizer with a finish at the back post following a superb ball in from the right by Zalewski and posed a better threat than Spinazzola down the left flank.