Roma restored a one-point gap to fourth place by beating Sinisa Mihajlovic’s Bologna 2-1 at the Stadio Olimpico on Monday night.
An Aleksander Kolarov penalty and Federico Fazio volley in the second half saw the capital club become the first team to defeat the Serbian’s side after they beat Inter and drew with Genoa in his opening two matches, but Nicola Sansone’s late strike made for a nervy ending.
Goalkeeper Robin Olsen kept Roma in the game in the first half, tipping over a stinging Roberto Soriano shot, blocking a close-range effort from the midfielder with his legs and then denying Simone Edera from point-blank range after parrying an awkward cross into the winger’s path.
The visitors left their closest effort until last, as Soriano latched onto Nzonzi’s loose header and struck the crossbar from 12 yards out, and boos rang around the Olimpico as the half time whistle blew.
Eusebio Di Francesco was called into action and Stephan El Shaarawy was brought on for the second half to almost immediate impact, winning a penalty on the 53rd minute which Kolarov converted to settle some nerves among the home support.
Bologna almost responded immediately as Olsen dived to save an audacious Andrea Poli volley, but the home side pulled away on the 73rd minute when Fazio met a nod-on from a corner to volley in at the back post.
Sansone pulled one back for the visitors with six minutes remaining, dribbling straight through the Roma box from left to right before firing a low shot into the corner.
The result means the Giallorossi remain one point behind fourth-placed AC Milan, but it did see them pull three points clear of Atalanta and Lazio following their defeats over the weekend.
Olsen to the rescue
It hasn’t been the easiest of debut seasons for Robin Olsen in Rome, with his form going up and down as he looks to escape the impossibly large shadow of Alisson Becker.
After two matches out injured, some were even suggesting that the Swede should be usurped permanently by stand-in goalkeeper Antonio Mirante, but Olsen responded with a performance of the highest quality to help his teammates get through an off-day.
In the first half alone he expertly denied Soriano twice, before flying to his left to prevent Poli’s deflected volley from finding the corner after the break. If it wasn’t for Olsen, Mihajlovic’s men may well have left the capital celebrating another unlikely victory.
Battling Bologna need a clinical edge
Mihajlovic led his team to the Olimpico having already taken one huge scalp on the road, beating Inter at San Siro on his debut. Frustratingly for the Serbian, his team could’ve repeated the feat had they been more ruthless with their finishing.
The visitors took the game to Roma in the first half and it was only a combination of Olsen’s goalkeeping and the crossbar that stopped them going in front. It would be easy to blame bad luck, but the former Milan coach will be fully aware that if his side are to pull off their escape act and avoid relegation they will need to take chances of the quality they created in the capital.
Still, the performance of Mihajlovic’s side was another signal that a revival is well underway at the Stadio Dall’Ara.
Source: forzaitalianfootball.com