Robinio Vaz netted his inaugural goal for Roma, proving just enough to secure a victory over Lecce, a win that was also significantly aided by Mario Hermoso’s crucial goal-line clearance.
Roma, known as the Giallorossi, entered the match following a challenging period, having secured only one point from their last three Serie A fixtures, which saw them drop to sixth position. Their week took a further blow with a 4-3 extra-time loss to Bologna, leading to their elimination from the Europa League Round of 16. The team faced several absences, with Zeki Celik and Manu Koné joining the already long list of injured players including Matias Soulé, Paulo Dybala, Artem Dovbyk, and Evan Ferguson. Wesley was also unavailable due to a controversial red card received against Como. Lecce, on the other hand, saw the return of Lameck Banda, who had been stretchered off in a previous match against Napoli due to breathing issues. However, they were without Riccardo Sottil, Lassana Coulibaly, Medon Berisha, Francesco Camarda, and Kialonda Gaspar.
Lecce’s goalkeeper, Wladimiro Falcone, was immediately put to the test early in the game. He had to deal with a Lorenzo Pellegrini cross that deflected twice before reaching him at the near post, and later made a leg-save from another angled shot by Pellegrini.
Roma thought they had opened the scoring in the 24th minute when Nicolò Pisilli’s angled shot found the far bottom corner of the net past Falcone, but the goal was disallowed due to Lorenzo Pellegrini being offside in the preceding play.
From a corner kick, Evan Ndicka headed the ball over the crossbar. Later, Tiago Gabriel demonstrated excellent defending with a double tackle, first dispossessing Malen within the penalty area, then successfully blocking El Aynaoui’s subsequent attempt.
Falcone managed to tip a cross-shot from Gianluca Mancini over the bar. Unfortunately for Roma, Mancini had to be substituted at half-time due to an injury.
Lecce started the second half with renewed determination. Svilar, Roma’s goalkeeper, had difficulty parrying a long-range, swerving shot from Ngom, and Tiago Gabriel headed over from the ensuing corner.
Robinio Vaz, introduced from the bench, immediately made his mark by scoring his debut goal for Roma. Mario Hermoso delivered a precise cross from the by-line on the left flank, allowing the former Olympique Marseille player to head the ball in from a difficult angle at the back post.
Sadik Fofana found himself in a promising position but scuffed his shot wide under pressure from Ndicka. However, Lecce soon created a significant double scoring opportunity in the 73rd minute.
Konan N’Dri initiated the attack, dribbling down the left wing and forcing a save from Svilar with his leg at the near post. Following this, Santiago Pierotti’s diving header from the rebound was heroically cleared off the goal line by Hermoso.
The crowd erupted in cheers as Angelino made his first Serie A appearance at the Stadio Olimpico since October, marking his return after a challenging recovery from pneumonia.
Vaz later fired a shot over the bar after a corner fell to him. Falcone then produced a remarkable double reaction save from close range, though the play would have been ruled offside anyway.
