from Verona to the derby, Mourinho shakes him
Whether it will finally be Zaniolo’s week doesn’t just depend on Zaniolo. Indeed, it is very much linked to the outcome of the appeal that Roma forwarded to UEFA, with the aim of reducing the disqualification that would return it to Mourinho for the in / out match against Ludogorets. We will know more tomorrow, in the hours preceding the match in Verona, or more likely on Tuesday. In the meantime, however, Zaniolo can draw inspiration from the policy of taking small steps to get the big leap: after the support trip to the team in Helsinki, expressly decided by the coach despite disciplinary ineligibility, he should return to the team at Bentegodi to guarantee freshness and brilliance to a group a little stressed by constant commitments.
Tachometer
Still looking for his first goal of the season, Zaniolo is experiencing the scorer’s block with an understandable annoyance. He has never been a relentless scorer, nor perhaps he will ever become one, but due to the role he occupies on the pitch he is aware of the assignment: the attackers, or at least the attacking midfielders, must score in the last 20 meters otherwise they risk turning into trappings of taste. questionable. His last goal remains the one, exciting and decisive, scored in Tirana in the final of the Conference but if we look through the list of Serie A matches we discover that the abstinence has lasted since January, when he tore Empoli to pieces on the counterattack. In Verona, where a man will be marked in every clod, he will try to shake off the sense of incompleteness to return to unleash the enormous potential of him, which in the moment of difficulty of Rome was not sufficiently exploited.
Cards and projects
After the first mark of the week, perhaps with the emotional thrust of an encouraging evening, Zaniolo will be able to devote himself to the two most important matches: if he is rehabilitated by the UEFA disciplinary commission, which punished him with three days of stoppage for a football kick. far away trimmed to a Betis defender, he will be a point of reference for Roma which owes Ludogorets mistreatment to remain linked to the Euroleague. Last year, in a similar situation, he wiped out Bodø with a hat-trick at the Olimpico, setting the stage for the final victory. This is why Mourinho would like to field him. He knows him well, he understands the reasons.
The knot
Another story is next Sunday’s derby, to which both Roman teams will arrive after a European effort. In the last face a, won by Roma, Nicolò remained ninety minutes on the bench. It was whispered a punishment unsuitable behavior, in reality Mourinho was only managing it for having performed in good condition in the Conference League. He was right. Like he was not wrong, perhaps, when he left him two weeks ago against Sampdoria: once he enters the field, Zaniolo could have scored at least a couple of goals. A matter of details, certainly not of inability. In Trigoria, many argue that fasting is about to end.
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