The late match of round 25 of Serie A between Frosinone and Roma ended with a jubilant 3-0 victory for new coach Daniele De Rossi’s team. With this victory, Roma is gradually returning to the race to qualify for the Champions League next season.
Goal
Roma: Huijsen (38′), Azmoun (71′), Paredes (81′, pen)
New coach De Rossi had a dream start after being appointed to replace Jose Mourinho when he had 3 consecutive wins against teams at the bottom of the table. In the fourth match, the Italian strategist tasted bitterness for the first time when Roma lost 2-4 to top team Inter Milan.
However, Roma’s winning streak quickly returned, when in the late match of round 25 last night they had a relatively easy away trip to Frosinone’s stadium, another team in the second half of the rankings. Although they were rated better, Roma did not show much and even the goal was always on alert. If goalkeeper Mile Svilar did not play excellently and the home team’s strikers were ungrateful, Roma would probably have to concede at least 3 goals.
The squandering of opportunities made the home team Frosinone pay the price thanks to the shining moments of young midfielder Dean Donny Huijsen. The 18-year-old player who grew up from the Juventus training center and is on loan to Roma made a solo move from the middle of the field, eliminating a series of Frosinone players before performing a technical shot close to the edge of the penalty area to hit the home team’s net in the second minute. 38 cleared the deadlock for Rome.
After scoring, Huijsen celebrated Cristiano Ronaldo style, then put a finger to his lips to signal silence. This last action earned him a yellow card, but there is history behind it. Huijsen was actually a Frosinone player in January until Roma called Juventus on loan.
Because of that yellow card and the tension on the field, coach De Rossi replaced the tired Huijsen and Romelu Lukaku and pushed Sardar Azmoun to the supporting role. This substitution worked, when Azmoun put his name on the scoreboard in the 71st minute, when he took the opportunity very quickly after goalkeeper Stefano Turati blocked Bryan Cristante’s shot.
In the 81st minute, the score was determined for Roma, when Leandro Paredes successfully took the 11m free kick after VAR stepped in and determined the situation where Baldanzi touched the ball with his hand in the penalty area. The jubilant 3-0 victory helped Roma gain 41 points to rank 6th on the rankings, 4 points behind Atalanta’s 4th place.
There is more good news for Roma, because midfielder Chris Smalling recovered from injury and played in the final minutes, witnessing his first appearance since September 1, 2023.