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AS Roma and Juventus played out an exciting 2-2 draw at the Stadio Olimpico as Cristiano Ronaldo’s heroics allowed the 10-man visitors claw back from a goal down to grab a point in their second game of the 2020-21 Serie A season.
Jordan Veretout opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 31st minute after Adrien Rabiot was deemed to have handled the ball inside the Juventus box. Cristiano Ronaldo then equalled proceedings for the Bianconeri with a penalty of his own just before half-time after Lorenzo Pellegrini handled inside his box.
However, parity proved short lived as moments later Veretout scored from a devastating Roma counter-attack to reclaim the lead. When Adrien Rabiot was sent off in the 62nd minute for a second bookable offence, the home side were handed a numerical advantage.
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However, not for the first time, Ronaldo made his trademark leap to power in a header in the 69th minute to level the scores as 10-man Juventus hung on for a creditable draw in the capital.
On that note, here are the five major talking points from the game.
#5 Andrea Pirlo’s formation conundrum with Juventus
Andrea Pirlo, who is only two games into his Juventus tenure, changed from the 3-5-2 that worked so well against Sampdoria on the opening day to a 4-4-2 against AS Roma, perhaps unnecessarily. It allowed Roma to defend with ease, resulting in Pirlo swiftly reverting to the 3-5-2.
One could sense that there was a need to play to Alvaro Morata’s strengths with a 4-4-2, but perhaps Pirlo’s inexperience as a coach showed as he attempted to fix something that wasn’t broken.
There is a sense that the Juventus boss is still not aware of his best starting-XI. The preference for the midfield energy of Aaron Ramsey, Adrien Rabiot and Weston McKinnie in a 3-5-2 means that there may not yet be a place for new signing Arthur who came on after the hour mark.
Pirloball was in full flow against Sampdoria, but as Roma proved, the young coach still has to rein in his temptation to tinker.
#4 Edin Dzeko - both the hero and the villian
With Edin Dzeko rested against Hellas Verona by Paulo Fonseca, Roma looked toothless in the goalless draw in that game. After his move to Juventus fell through following the signing of Alvaro Morata by the club, Dzeko was restored to the Roma starting lineup, with Roma looking like a more potent side.
The Bosnian and Montenegrin international was a thorn in Juventus’ flesh throughout the game as his battles with Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci ensured that there was space for Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pedro to work their magic. Roma’s creative duo thrived, allowing Jordan Veretout to profit while Dzeko toiled without reward.
However, while Dzeko’s presence elevated the performances of those around him, the striker ought to have put the game to bed for Roma when he had two presentable chances. It’s a streak of poor finishing that has crept back into Dzeko's game like it did last season at times, which is perhaps why the Giallorossi were open to parting with his services.
As it stands, Dzeko remains AS Roma’s most crucial player, and they simply will have to live with it for now.
#3 A tale of contrasting debuts - Morata and Kumbulla
There was plenty of incredulity at the amount Juventus reportedly shelled out to bring Alvaro Morata to the club, and his performance did little to quell those doubts. Unlike his first spell at the club, Morata looked quite timid, and barring one well-timed run, offered little to his striking partner.
Juventus brought Morata in primarily for his link-up capabilities, but the Spaniard looked out of sync with the rest of his teammates. It’s admittedly too soon to judge, but the initial impressions aren’t great, especially when the team’s cohesion improved after Morata was substituted.
In contrast, Maraash Kumbulla was fabulous for Roma, with the young defender barely putting a foot wrong despite his side conceding two goals. The centre-back looked composed for the most part, dealing with ease Juventus’ attempts to breach Roma's backline.
A few rash challenges betrayed his age, but overall, Kumbulla slotted into a three-man Roma defence with impressive ease.
#2 Is Fonseca the right man for AS Roma?
The shadow of Massimiliano Allegri loomed large over Paulo Fonseca going into this game, with rumours of the former Juventus manager interested in taking charge of Roma swirling around. With new club owners, the Friedkins, looking on, Fonseca delivered a relatively decent impression.
The Portuguese manager got his tactics spot on in the first half, with Roma set up to sit back and hit Juventus swiftly on the counter, which worked beautifully for the second goal. However, Fonseca’s tendency to make the wrong substitutions at the wrong time came back to haunt him.
Bruno Peres came on in the 68th minute and barely managed thirty seconds on the pitch before he was already culpable for allowing Cristiano Ronaldo to power a header with ease. Even after the equaliser, the Roma manager did little to freshen things up in attack, not pressing home the advantage of having an extra man on the pitch.
While a point at home to the defending champions is not a bad result, questions surely will be asked given Roma let a 2-1 lead slip with barely a competitive whimper against the ten men of Juventus.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo continues to bail Juventus out
Juventus may have walked away with a point at the Olimpico, but they really deserved very little from the game, especially as they barely threatened even when the game was 11 vs 11.
Cristiano Ronaldo is a get-out-of-jail-free card to most managers, and it didn’t take long for Andrea Pirlo to understand the advantage he has with Ronaldo’s aura on the pitch. The Portuguese talisman wasn’t very involved for much of the match as he struggled to dovetail with Alvaro Morata. Yet, he walked away from the game with a brace, like he’s done many times during his career.
Ronaldo’s heroics may have earned Juventus a point, but Pirlo would be foolish to count on it always, especially as their title rivals have strengthened and have their eyes set on denying Juventus a tenth consecutive Scudetto. If Juventus are to make a proper fist of things, Pirlo has to find ways to set the team up without developing an over-reliance on Ronaldo.
The brace from Ronaldo meant that he has now scored exactly 450 goals in Europe's top-5 leagues (Manchester United - 84, Real Madrid - 311, Juventus - 55).
