🔥 Roma boost top-four hopes, hit three past Cremonese, Cristante stars😲 | OneFootball

Roma triumphs 3-0 against Cremonese, reaching 50 points in the standings, creating a gap with fifth-placed Juve and catching up with Napoli. Gian Piero Gasperini's team legitimizes its position and takes an important step towards Champions League qualification.

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The Cremonese wall lasts only 45 minutes, then the lack of offensive power takes its toll, while the Roman team, switching to a 4-man defense, starts to dominate the game. Goals by Cristante, Ndicka, and Pisilli.

🤯 23 shots to 2, Roma's dominance

The match ends with 23 shots to 2 in favor of Roma and 0 shots on target for Cremonese.

A dominance that goes beyond the technical gap and highlights all the offensive difficulties of the Cremonese team.

❗️ Pisilli scores too, Roma's hat-trick

At the 86th minute, after a few minutes of great suffering exemplified by Svilar's excellent low save on Vardy, Roma makes it 3-0.

Closing the match is a surgical Pisilli, effective as a substitute. Malen's personal action is blocked by the defense, and on the rebound, the midfielder pounces and places an unstoppable curling shot past Audero. First goal in Serie A this year, third of the season.

💥 Cristante's backheel, Ndicka's first goal in Serie A

Another set piece, another goal. At the 77th minute, Roma doubles the lead with Ndicka, scoring his first-ever goal in Serie A.

The central defender takes advantage of Cristante's backheel, which extends the mid-height cross to the near post by El Aynaoui and beats Audero with a side-footed shot. The yellow-red team is clinical even when not shining spectacularly.

🧨 Cristante does it! Header from the captain, 1-0

At the 59th minute, Roma breaks the deadlock in a very difficult match with Bryan Cristante's specialty: the header. The yellow-red captain rises at the near post and directs the well-taken corner by Pellegrini into the goal.

For the player, it's the second goal of the season and the 15th header goal since 2016. A true factor, the key to unlocking a match with few highlights.

🚑 Payero injury, Bondo comes in

Cremonese also makes its first substitution. Martin Payero was injured at the end of the first half but tried to continue. However, after just 3 minutes into the second half, he requests a change, and Nicola opts for Bondo as a substitute.

♟️ Gasp's move: switching to a 4-man defense

After the break, Gian Piero Gasperini makes a change that is also a tactical move. El Aynaoui comes in for Ghilardi.

With this move, the coach deploys a 4-2-3-1 formation to make the team more dangerous.

❌ Mancini hits the crossbar, Pellegrini's scissor kick: Cremonese holds on

At the 35th minute, Roma becomes extremely dangerous for the first time in the match. A cross from the left by Zaragoza and the usual Mancini heads it onto the crossbar.

On the rebound, Pellegrini coordinates a semi-scissor kick, but the Cremonese defense manages to repel the beautiful technical gesture.

😬 Slow start at the Olimpico

Roma doesn't start the match with great rhythm. The simultaneous absence of Dybala and Soulé is strongly felt in the fluidity and quality of play.

Few shots to note, perhaps the most dangerous being the one from inside the area by the returning Manu Koné, well blocked by the very attentive Cremonese defense.

🔄 Roma changes: Hermoso out, Ghilardi in

Roma has announced through its official channels a change in the starting lineup.

Mario Hermoso, who was supposed to start for the first time post-injury, will not be there from the 1st minute as indicated by the lineup due to a problem during the warm-up, Filippo Biafora reports a muscle discomfort. Ghilardi takes his place.

🔥 Ranieri: "Of course we want the Champions League"

Roma's director Claudio Ranieri spoke to DAZN before the match.

"Champions? Well, the important thing is to make things clear. Last year I scored 46 points in the second half of the season and came one point away from the Champions League. It seemed logical not to burden the new coach with expectations. But it's logical that we all want to go to the Champions League, the Friedkins want to win the championship.

Malen arrives at the right time in the right place, with the right coach. But it's also true that there's a big difference between the Premier League and our championship. In the Premier League, due to the money, they buy very young players for 50-60 million and you can't compete.

In the Premier League, he played and didn't play, came in and out, and didn't find the opportunities that he is finding here in the Italian league. We hold onto Malen because he's doing very well, and we truly wish him to continue on this path."

✅ Official lineups

ROMA (3-4-2-1): Svilar; Mancini, N’Dicka, Hermoso; Celik, Cristante (C), Koné, Wesley; Zaragoza, Pellegrini; Malen.

CREMONESE (3-5-2): Audero; Folino, Luperto, Terracciano; Zerbin, Maleh, Payero, Thorsby, Pezzella; Bonazzoli, Sanabria.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.

📸 FILIPPO MONTEFORTE - AFP or licensors