Torino pegged Roma back late to eke out a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino in the final game of Serie A matchday five. As expected, the encounter in Turin wasn’t the most enjoyable affair to watch, but still produced two goals and a late drama.
Following a goalless halftime score, Roma broke the deadlock in the 68th minute through Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian marksman shrugged off his marker and finished with aplomb from inside the box to make it three goals in as many starts for Jose Mourinho’s side.
Lukaku fired Roma to a 2-1 victory at Sheriff Tiraspol on Thursday, but his goal wasn’t enough to seal the deal for Giallorossi tonight. Duvan Zapata, who was inches away from switching to the capital in the summer, made Mourinho regret pulling the plug on a move.
The Atalanta loanee got his thumping header on the end of Ivan Ilic’s inch-perfect cross to salvage a point for Torino in the 85th minute. A stomach-wrenching result in Turin left Roma with a single win in five Serie A matches this season.
Let’s look at our player ratings.
Roma (3-4-2-1)
Rui Patricio – 6.5
Though Torino failed to threaten his goal on many occasions, the Portuguese goalkeeper didn’t look comfortable tonight. He made several decent interventions, though, while there was nothing he could’ve done for the goal.
Evan Ndicka – 6
While he excelled against Sheriff a few days ago, the former Eintracht Frankfurt defender had some shaky moments tonight. For instance, Zapata gave him a slip for the equalizing goal.
Diego Llorente – 7.5
The Spaniard seems to be making strides at Roma after rejoining the club on another loan. After a rock-solid performance in the Europa League, he enjoyed another stellar evening, making numerous interceptions and winning multiple aerial duels.
Gianluca Mancini – 7.5
Like his abovementioned defensive colleague, the Italy international was nothing short of impressive, especially in fierce physical battles against Zapata. It’s a pity his effort went in vain at the final stretch.
Rasmus Kristensen – 7
Another display like this would probably see Mourinho nail Rick Karsdorp to the bench, with the Danish full-back putting on a sterling performance down the right-hand side. He was dependable at the back, which didn’t come at the expense of his ventures forward.
Leandro Paredes – 6
Following a game-changing impact in Tiraspol, you’d expect the World Cup winner to shine in more familiar surroundings. But it wasn’t the case tonight. His attempt to pull the strings in the engine room didn’t go according to plan.
Bryan Cristante – 7
Roma can always rely on their talismanic midfielder to keep things calm in the center of the field and help out the backline whenever possible. The ex-Milan man worked his socks off again to keep Mourinho’s side ticking over in tumultuous moments.
Leonard Spinazzola – 6.5
Despite showing plenty of ambition in the front third, the attacking-minded left-back again struggled for the end product. His delivery wasn’t on the money.
Stephan El Shaarawy – 6.5
You won’t see his name on the board tonight, but the ‘Little Pharaoh’ showed glimpses of his standout technique on several occasions to retain possession in tight spaces.
Paulo Dybala – 6
Not one of his best nights in the Roma shirt by any stretch of the imagination. The diminutive forward lost too many balls and surprisingly failed to keep his calm in promising situations.
Romelu Lukaku – 7.5
The robust striker proved again he doesn’t need many opportunities to find the back of the net. In addition to the goal, he was instrumental to the visitors’ attacks, battling and bruising with his markers all night long.
Substitutes
Nicola Zalewski – 5.5
Took El Shaarawy’s place midway through the second half but didn’t do anything noteworthy.
Andrea Belotti – N/A
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