Roma vs Braga Player Ratings: Lorenzo Pellegrini and Abdulhamid star for Roma as they thump Braga at home

Roma put three goals past a sorry Braga at the Stadio Olimpico on a key Europe League night. The skipper Lorenzo Pellegrini opened the scoring for the hosts early in the game via a controlled finish. Roma were untroubled by a toothless Braga side who failed to get a single shot on target in the entire game. The Saudi Arabian wing-back Abdulhamid then took the game away from the visitors. He scored the second goal first by blasting the ball into the roof of the net before getting Braga’s goalkeeper sent off for a handball outside the box. Hermoso then added gloss to the scoreline after scoring from close range against a 10-man Braga. Roma’s comfortable win puts them in a better position now as they chase the playoffs in the Europa League.

The hosts gave Braga a false sense of security by sitting deep and passing in their own half. They absorbed enough pressure before N’Dicka hit an excellent pass into Zalewski’s stride. Pellegrini rolled the ball onto his right before rifling it past Matheus to open the scoring. It allowed Roma to play more aggressively as Pellegrini hit the crossbar with a free header just minutes later. Roma then had no trouble ceding possession to their opponents as Braga only managed to muster a single shot.

The second half did show some gulf in class as Roma took control of the game. Kone skipped past multiple challenges before finding an onrushing Abdulhamid who rifled it home. The Saudi Arabian created more trouble as he slipped Soule once and had Michel sent off as he hit the onrushing goalkeeper’s hands well outside the box. It then became an easier game for Roma to take care of with a numerical advantage. El Shaarawy should’ve certainly made it three as he saw his effort cleared off the line.

However, Roma’s man advantage finally came good as Hermoso turned home from close range as the goalkeeper spilt a shot into his path. This win sends Roma into 12th position and they now have an outside of a chance for a top-8 finish. Braga on the other hand languishes in the bottom half and might be knocked out after the group stages.

Roma Player Ratings vs Braga

Goalkeeper

Mile Svilar: 7/10- Not at all called upon in the first half. Was only involved in build-up play and kept the hosts ticking. Didn’t need to make a single save but kept on claiming crosses to feel involved.

Defenders

Gianluca Mancini: 7.5/10- Switched positions with Abdulhamid to attack the wide area. Almost picked up an assist as Pellegrini hit the crossbar.

Mats Hummels: 7.5/10- Rolled back the years with some excellent defending in the box. Strong in the air and on the ground, didn’t give a sniff of the ball to the opposition.

Evan N’Dicka: 7/10- Excellent vision to spot Zalewski’s run and play a faultless long ball. His shot was parried for Hermoso to score the final goal of the game.

Midfielders

Saud Abdulhamid: 8.5/10- Lovely run to get into the box and a thumper of a finish to double his side’s advantage. Settling well into this attacking role under Ranieri.

Niccolo Pisilli: 7.5/10- Not the flashiest with the ball, but just did what was needed of him to rotate the play. Just fired a hopeful volley wide in the second period.

Kouadio Kone: 8.5/10- Displayed good reading of the game as he kept making the simple passes. Added more glamour with an assist in the second.

Nicola Zalewski: 7.5/10- Held the width and kept making dangerous runs down the left. Picked his assist up with a simple rolled pass.

Attackers

Matias Soule: 7/10- Missed a great opportunity in the second half as the goalkeeper denied him twice in quick succession. Was becoming quickly wasteful as he curled Kone’s simple pass wide.

Lorenzo Pellegrini: 8.5/10- Opened the scoring with a cool finish beyond the keeper after a lovely run down the middle. Missed a sitter just minutes after the first.

Paulo Dybala: 6/10- A rare off night for the Argentine. Struggled to get into the game and failed to be a focal point for the team. Hooked during the break for a different type of striker.

Substitutes

Artem Dovbyk: 7/10 – Came on for Dybala and immediately showed what a target man can do. Was full of running and chance creation and was unfortunate to not even score once.

Alexis Saelemaekers: 6/10

Stephan El Sharaawy: 7/10

Mario Hermoso: 7/10 – Notched up his first goal of the Europa League campaign after turning home N’Dicka’s shot.

Manager

Claudio Ranieri: 8/10- Took a misfiring Roma side and has possibly turned the situation around after a month in charge. Roma are enjoying their football again as they win back-to-back in all competitions. The attackers are performing with more freedom and it seems like a solution is found defensively. Ranieri will be hoping this form continues as we head into the key phase of the season.

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Braga Player Ratings vs Roma

Goalkeeper

Matheus: 4/10- Should have done better with the first goal. A bad evening turned worse when he rushed out of his box and handled Abdulhamid’s attempted shot. A red card was the most obvious decision there for the referee.

Defenders

Joao Ferreira: 6/10- Caught out for the first goal as Zalewski had acres of space to run into. Feeble in the tackles against Kone as well.

Paulo Oliviera: 6.5/10- Involved in some good build-up play from the back but was never threatening to break Roma’s lines.

Robson Bambu: 6/10- Was targeted by Roma’s press and dealt with it quite well for most periods. Was taken off at halftime to prevent further damage.

Roger Fernandes: 6.5/10- Struggled to contain Abdulhamid as the full-back kept finding space easily every time.

Midfielders

Jean-Baptiste Gorby: 6/10- Needed to provide some creativity from the middle but to no success.

Joao Moutinho: 6.5/10- Still pulling strings in the middle of the park but not creative enough to cause any real danger to the hosts.

Ismael Gharbi: 6/10- Tried very hard to make something happen for the visitors but couldn’t get past a determined Roma defence.

Attackers

Gabri Martinez: 6/10- His best contribution came in his own box when blocked a certain goalbound shot off the line.

Amine El Ouazzani: 5.5/10- Nothing worked out for the striker as he missed simple passes and was rag-dolled by the opposition’s defence.

Ricardo Horta: 6/10- The captain was involved in an unnecessary tussle with his counterpart. His team looked to him for inspiration and he simply didn’t have the answers.

Substitutes

Adrian Marin: 6/10

Andre Horta: 6/10

Rodrigo Zalazar: 6/10

Lukas Hornicek: 6/10

Roberto Fernandez: 6/10

Manager

Carlos Carvalhal: 5/10- The manager despite a strong team named couldn’t get a shot on target against the hosts. Defensively they were carved open with ease as the shape wasn’t good enough. Even in-game management was questionable as he couldn’t salvage the situation at all.

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