Roma Travel to Verona Looking To String Together Two Wins

Roma’s win against Torino in the midweek wasn’t pretty, but it was necessary. I genuinely don’t know what would have happened if Roma drew or lost to Torino on Thursday — whether Ivan Jurić would still be Roma’s manager, who might take his place, whether the Senators of this side might not pull on a Roma kit ever again. With a 1-0 win, as close as it was, the bleeding has stopped at the very least.

Yet, with the wrong result tomorrow against Verona, Roma will find itself right back where it was before the Torino win. Anything other than three points will restart the chorus demanding Jurić’s resignation in earnest; anything other than three points will signal that despite all the talent in this side, Roma is doomed to a mid-table finish this season. I hope that isn’t true, and it isn’t that terrifying of a concept to expect Roma to string together two wins by beating 10th-place Torino and 14th-place Hellas Verona.

Still, I’m officially 100% in the “prove it” space with every member of this Roma organization. My typical optimism can only go so far without actual performances on the pitch that warrant sharing that optimism. Check back with me around Thanksgiving to see if I think there’s a shred of hope for Roma’s European ambitions. Until then, Roma’s going to have to prove their worth to me, one match at a time.

What To Watch For

Have We Seen The Last of the Cristante-Pellegrini Midfield?

Photo by Antonietta Baldassarre/Insidefoto/LightRocket via Getty Images

Bryan Cristante and Lorenzo Pellegrini have both had a tough season, to put it mildly. The two Italian internationals were once thought of as critical members of this Roma squad, but their poor form through the first several months of the season has finally translated into Ivan Jurić removing them from their spots in the starting eleven. Jurić isn’t even keeping up the pretense of injury to explain their absence now, simply saying that he has made a technical decision.

Part of the reason that Jurić has the ability to make that technical decision is the strength of his other options in midfield. Manu Koné, Enzo Le Fée, and Niccolò Pisilli have all looked better than either Cristante or Pellegrini this season. Because of that, the benching of Cristante and Pellegrini hasn’t completely sunk Roma’s midfield. But for Roma to succeed at the level it is expected to, Roma can’t have two senators on high salaries warming the bench. That leaves two real options for Cristante and Pellegrini: they either improve their form, or Roma moves on from them both.

I have just a shred of hope that Pellegrini can return to the level many Romanisti had grown to expect from him; with Cristante, I’m even less sure. But if there were two players who have the most to prove in this Roma squad following this nightmare at the start of the season, it would be Cristante and Pellegrini. It’s time for them to put up or shut up — if they haven’t lost that chance already.

Is Samuel Dahl About To Get Some Playing Time?

Photo by Fabio Rossi/AS Roma via Getty Images

While Cristante and Pellegrini have received plenty of chances to play this season and have squandered nearly all of them, Samuel Dahl is the last of Roma’s summer transfers to remain stuck on the bench. According to Ivan Jurić, that’s not an indictment of Dahl’s potential but simply a result of his need to adjust to a new league and to develop inside Roma’s tactical system:

Dahl? He’s an interesting player, similar to Angeliño. Very technical. He trains really well with good mentality. He was behind compared to the others but I like him a lot. Let’s see if we can have him on the pitch shortly.

“Shortly” could mean anything from tomorrow to April 2025, but if I were a betting man, I’d put some money down on Dahl getting some sub appearances in the very near future. As usual with the Giallorossi of the 2020s, Roma is weakest at fullback and wingback, and while Angeliño is no slouch, he’s not a long-term solution as a starter. On the other hand, Dahl could very easily slot into Roma’s defense once he’s up to speed, and every comment I’ve seen since he joined Roma has been professional, understanding he may have to wait for his moment but preparing for it all the same.

I’m getting to the point with this season where player development is the main thing keeping me glued to my TV screen during Roma matches. I’m certainly not watching for the beautiful football these days, but dreaming about the future of Roma’s younger players gives me at least a semi-understandable reason to switch on Paramount+ every match day. If Dahl is given the runway to develop through matchplay soon, that will be one more reason for me to tune in. If the hunt for Champions League football is deferred for another season, I need all the reasons I can get.

Match Details

Date: Sunday, November 3rd

Kickoff: 18:00 CET/12:00 EST

Venue: Stadio Marco Bentegodi, Verona

Referee: Matteo Marcenaro