Roma came out on top with a late surge for the second Serie A game in a row at home. While a goal by Stephan El Shaarawy was enough to topple Monza, they needed two to come back versus Lecce. They got them from Sardar Azmoun and Romelu Lukaku, sending the Olimpico into a frenzy.
According to Gianluca Di Marzio, the Giallorossi have collected 28 points in the stoppage time during the José Mourinho era. They have rallied back in 14 games in the last two seasons and change: seven in 2021/2022 and five in the past one.
The first instance was the Sassuolo match on September 12th, 2021, with El Shaarawy hitting the net in the final minutes and the Special One running toward the Curva Sud to celebrate with the players. Roma have also benefitted from the trend continentally.
They found late scores against Vitesse in the European Conference League’s Round of 16 and versus Feyenoord in the Europa League, eventually prevailing 4-1 in extra time. They qualified again for such a competition thanks to a Paulo Dybala goal versus Spezia in the final match-day.
Our Take on Roma
There are some emotional elements in play, and there’s no denying Mourinho is a great motivator. On the other hand, their feats have often come in situations when he did away with his usual scheme and threw more attackers onto the pitch. Their cautious approach might be holding them back.
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