Legendary Godfather

May 2, 2018, Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy.

Today’s starting lineups for both sides are as follows:

Home team Roma, head coach Di Francesco, formation 4312

goalkeeper hennessey

The back four from left to right: Kolarov, Taiqiao, Manolas and Florenzi

Midfield three from left to right Nainggolan, De Rossi and Pellegrini

Single midfielder Dzeko

Double forward Shaarawi and Schick

Visiting team Crystal Palace, head coach Tong Yi, formation 4213

goalkeeper Maignan

Back four from left to right Cancelo, Rudiger, Van Dijk and Carvajal

Double defensive midfielder Casemiro and Kante

Single attacking midfielder De Bruyne

The three forwards from left to right Salah, Ronaldo and Mbappe

It can be seen that the Roma team's lineup is actually a deformed 433 formation, and Dzeko will now retreat behind Shaarawy and Schick. Of course, the style of big centers playing as attacking midfielders has also been popular in world football for a while. Among them, top centers such as Lewandowski and Ibrahimovic briefly appeared behind the strikers and played as a midfielder. The fake attacking midfielder is actually a fulcrum bridgehead, serving the two charging forwards. Moreover, ambushing behind these two people, the big center can play more, without having to directly face the opponent's center back and attack from a distance.

It can be seen that this is what Di Francesco had in mind today.

The goal is to keep Dzeko away from Rudiger and Van Dijk, so that Dzeko can not only serve as a bridgehead, but also play ball for Shaarawy and Schick in front. More importantly, he can complete shots and forward penetration with ease.

It can be seen that Di Francesco is going to attack hard today.

The score of 3 to 5 in the first round between the two sides forced them to take some risks.

And the advantage of three away goals does allow them to fight hard. Maybe they can really complete the reversal and create a miracle.

The Roma fans at the scene were very proactive and cheered their players crazily, hoping that they could perform better and score goals as soon as possible.

beep!

The referee of this game, Turkish Güneit Cakir, blew the whistle to start the game.

Cakir has become an international referee in 2006. He has officiated many major European Cup and Champions League events, and has also refereed the World Cup. He is also one of the referees for the upcoming 2018 World Cup in Russia. He can be regarded as a member of UEFA and International One of the referees reused by the Football Association.

However, some of the games he officiated in the past were controversial, which gave him mixed reviews.

He even made some penalties against the English team in the Champions League, which attracted severe criticism from the English media and some celebrities. Moyes, who worked as a commentary consultant for the BBC at the time, once commented, "In my opinion, the referee's penalty was unbelievable. It was really a very bad penalty. It changed the direction and result of the game!"

Even Kompany, the former Manchester City player, commented like this: "His penalties are based on his defense!"

Roy Keane once said, "He is not a qualified referee at all, and his penalties simply make me sick!"

There are many comments like this.

This is also one of the reasons why some people in the outside world are very optimistic about the Roma team's reversal and miracle. Many people suspect that Crystal Palace will be targeted in this game.

The Romans certainly didn't think so, but their mentality was indeed more peaceful.

They also feel they have a good chance of a comeback.

The game has started, and the first to kick off is the Roma team.

The Roma team attacked with all their strength from the moment they came up, without any testing. It can be seen that they are very determined. Today is life or death, and they will never choose mediocrity!

The Roma fans were very excited when they saw this. This is how we should play.

After passing the ball continuously, the football came to the wing. Pellegrini on the wing directly took a long pass and found Dzeko in the frontcourt. At this time, in the position of the attacking midfielder, he was really a bit like Crystal Palace. The central defender is a bit out of position. Now it is defensive midfielder Casemiro who is competing with Dzeko for the top spot!

Dzeko jumped high, shook his head, and passed the football to Shalawi who was on the front fork.

The ball actually flew a little behind, and the speed of the ball couldn't keep up with Shalawi's forward speed. But while running at high speed, Shalawi very cleverly used the outside of the heel of his left foot behind him to hook the football forward, and the football came directly to the most comfortable position in front of him!

All the Roma fans at the scene applauded excitedly and shouted, "Beautiful!"

Even the fans of Crystal Palace felt that the ball was handled very well. This and the adjustments were really handled to the extreme. Shalawi didn't need to hesitate at all and just volleyed with his legs.

With a bang, Shalawi hit the football with a fierce kick, and the football shot quickly towards the Crystal Palace goal.

The speed of the ball is very fast, like a fleeting meteor in the night sky.

Maignan in front of the goal reacted very quickly and immediately pounced out to the near lower corner of the goal.

With a bang, Maignan made a meritorious deed and threw the football away with one palm!

oops! There was a sound of regret, followed immediately by a round of applause.

The fans of the home team Roma naturally gave Shaarawy applause. The ball was handled very well, the angle of the shot was also very tricky, and the ball speed was also very fast. In their opinion, this goal was definitely a must-goal. , who knew that the ball was actually saved by this guy Maignan.

This Maignan is indeed a powerful guy!

Roma fans applauded and encouraged, signaling Shaarawi and the Roma players to continue. If they continue to play like this, they will definitely be able to create miracles and complete the reversal.

Come on!

Corner kick, the Roma team got a corner kick opportunity at the beginning, which declared the determination of the Romans.

In this game, they will fight Crystal Palace to the end.

Tong Yi immediately reached out to remind the Crystal Palace players to defend seriously, keep an eye on their own people, and not give the Romans a chance, especially the defense against Dzeko, Fazio and Manolas.

These three high points are indeed worth paying attention to.

The Crystal Palace players were also very attentive, wrestling with these guys in the penalty area.

At this moment, the referee blew his whistle, and Pellegrini in the corner kicked the ball directly into the Crystal Palace penalty area.

The arc of football is not very big, but the ball speed is very fast, like a shooting star.

Neither Dzeko nor Van Dijk, who rushed up from the front, touched the football. The football flew over their heads and towards the center. Fazio and Rudiger in the middle also jumped up at the same time, but they did not hit the football. The speed of the ball was really too fast, and it was a bit difficult to handle.

Manolas and Casemiro at the back also encountered the same problem, and the football flew past their scalps.

The ball seemed to be served without much problem. There were opportunities at three points, but none of them touched the football.

Just when the Crystal Palace people breathed a sigh of relief, Shalawi suddenly appeared from behind, and then just when the football was about to fly out of the baseline, he directly hooked the football back, and the football immediately rolled towards the center of the penalty area.

Sigg in the penalty area immediately kicked the football flying over with his legs. With a bang, the football shot towards the Crystal Palace goal very fast.

Kanter, who also took a shot in the penalty area, was a little slower, and the football was kicked by Schick.

The ball was so fast that Maignan in front of the goal reacted a beat too late, and the football flew quickly into the Crystal Palace goal.

One to zero, just three minutes into the game, the Roma team playing at home scored!

This is a fantastic start!

The Roma fans at the scene were extremely excited. There was a feeling of blood rushing to their foreheads and their whole bodies burning. The blood is boiling, the passion is high, jumping up and down, as if in the middle of the dance floor, reaching the state of selflessness and soaring.

Roma fans shouted Schick's name excitedly, and some guys even jumped up and waved Schick's head, celebrating passionately.

"This start... is really beyond our expectations. Who would have thought that Roma would score a goal at the beginning of the game. Now the gap between the two sides is much smaller. There is only one goal. The gap is huge. More importantly, if Roma equalizes the score now, then Roma's three away advantages will play an extremely important role, which will be very detrimental to Crystal Palace!" BBC Sports commentary Member Mortensen became a little nervous and frowned.

To be honest, he really didn't expect that the game would start like this.

Before the game, he also predicted that the Roma team would definitely cause a lot of trouble for Crystal Palace in this game, but he did not expect that the Roma team would go so smoothly.

Goal scoring rate.

This is huge pressure for Crystal Palace.

It seems that the changes in Roman today still caught the Crystal Palace people off guard, and Dzeko's retreat brought unexpected results.

At the beginning, Di Francesco seemed to be one step ahead of Tong Yi!

"The start of this game is a test for Crystal Palace and David. Sometimes a five-to-three lead is not an advantage, but becomes a shackles. This side is a bit like this, which makes the Crystal Palace people feel They were far ahead, and there was no need to panic or even worry. Now, as soon as Roma scored, this advantage made the Crystal Palace people feel that their advantage was not safe, and the situation was even a bit precarious. Next, David What will you do?" Shearer was also a little nervous at this time and a little dissatisfied with Crystal Palace's opening performance.

Or is it that your current thoughts, Tong Yi, are not focused on Crystal Palace at all, but directly focused on the acquisition of AC Milan or Inter Milan?

This is not an ideal start!

At this time, Tong Yi on the sidelines was not anxious at all, very calm, and could not see the team lagging behind at all.

Tong Yi came to the sidelines and kept pressing his hands down, signaling the Crystal Palace players to relax and stabilize.

Don't look at the Roma goals now, it seems to have put a lot of pressure on us.

actually not!

Our Crystal Palace is still in the lead now. Next, we have to attack like crazy and work hard. It is not our Crystal Palace that must use all means to score goals, but the Roma team.

Therefore, the one who is anxious now should not be our Crystal Palace, but the Roma team.

On our side, we can stabilize our mentality and continue to play according to our arrangements, and we can still win this game steadily.

The Crystal Palace players nodded slightly to show their understanding.

When the game restarted, Crystal Palace immediately pressed forward with an aggressive high-position press. The Roma team was indeed a bit overwhelmed. The veteran midfielder De Rossi still had problems under such a high-intensity pressing. His pass made a mistake and the ball was directly interrupted by Kante.

After stealing the ball, the football rolled to Casemiro's feet.

Casemiro passed the ball directly to De Bruyne, who was already pulling wide. De Bruyne was very active in the Crystal Palace and often changed positions back and forth. After De Bruyne received the ball, he saw Ronaldo pushing forward in the middle. He immediately started to pass the ball. The football flew quickly into the Roma team and accurately found the Portuguese forward.

Ronaldo jumped up high in the middle of the penalty area and slammed the football with his head. The football shot quickly towards the Roma goal.

The speed of the ball is very fast, like a bolt of lightning.

The Roma fans at the scene immediately screamed in horror, and some were even too scared to watch any more. This was Ronaldo, and his header was extremely sharp. It's dangerous. This time the Roma team is really in danger. Many people are worried!