As AS Roma begin their 2018/19 Champions League campaign versus Spanish opposition Real Madrid, thoughts will inevitably turn to last season, when the Giallorossi surprised everyone by beating their bitter rivals Barcelona in the quarter-final. There will be some in the stadium on Wednesday that applaud Kostas Manolas for his goal that knocked the Blaugrana out, the centre-back unwittingly having become a hero in the Spanish capital.
The comeback Roma made in the second leg of that tie will go down in history as one of the most entertaining ever seen in the elite competition, and boss Eusebio Di Francesco deserves so much credit for the way he transmitted his belief to his players.
“It was a great ride [last season],” he smiled in his pre-match press conference. “We got to where we got on merit, we hope we can repeat it. The Barcelona comeback? The fans remind me of it every time I meet them on the street, and I use it to motivate my players by reminding them that anything can happen in 90 minutes.”
That was his first ever outing in the Champions League as a Coach, and that previous summer had seen Roma lose both Mohamed Salah and Antonio Rudiger to Premier League sides. Now Di Francesco faces fresh challenges, the club having sold goalkeeper Alisson plus key midfielders Radja Nainggolan and Kevin Strootman this summer, a factor that has certainly shown in their early results.
A last-gasp winner versus Torino has been the only high point in Roma’s opening four domestic encounters, the Giallorossi held to a 3-3 draw by Atalanta, losing 2-1 to AC Milan and this weekend being pegged back from 2-0 up to a 2-2 draw at home to lowly Chievo. Many have pointed the finger at sporting director Monchi, the former Sevilla transfer wizard thought to have gone too far with his sell high, buy low philosophy this season.
Yet Di Francesco only has so much credit in the bank after last season’s dizzy heights of the Champions League semi-finals, with reports in the Italian press suggesting that his performance will be monitored by owner James Pallotta over the next four matches following their collapse versus Chievo.
The Coach could have done without facing the team that have won the Champions League in each of the last three seasons in the first of those four games, but he is under no illusions of the task that lies ahead.
“I expected a better start in Serie A but we need to find consistency in our performances,” Di Francesco continued in his discussion with reporters. “Real Madrid remain strong even without Cristiano Ronaldo, that’s what the numbers in the first matches tell us. They have more quality with the ball, they make fewer mistakes and they have more leaders.”
Making mistakes is something that Roma have suffered from this season, and a team still seeking consistency could well be roundly beaten at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday evening.
Nevertheless, their performance in the competition last season puts the result – which on paper should certainly go the way of Los Merengues – just in the tiniest bit of doubt.
What if, just what if, they did it again?
