AZ Alkmaar-Roma 1-0: Parrott defeats the Capitoline team, Giallorossi out of the top eight

Alkmaar 23 January 2025 - Not the best Rome di Ranieri and in a difficult field like that of Alkmaar you pay a heavy price. At the AFAS Stadion the Giallorossi in fact fell 1-0 against AZ, thanks to parrott who in the 79th minute scored the goal that was worth the three points with only the second shot on target of the biancorossi match. A precious victory for the Dutch, who remain in the running for the top eight positions in this phase of the championship, while the giallorossi say goodbye to them definitively and on the last day they will have to maintain their place in the play-offs.

First half

For the challenge against the Giallorossi Martens largely confirms the predictions of the day before. The only absentee is Van Bommel, except for health reasons, there are poku e lahdo on the sides of Meerdink in attack, the latter preferred to parrott. In the median classic sets the pace with koopmeiners e myans with him. Goes e It penetrates they are the central defenders, Maikuma right and Moller Wolfe on the left in the line of four in front of owusu-I smell. No rest for Dybala, he is there at your side dovbyk in the Giallorossi attack, with the midfield composed of pisilli, Paredes e Koné. To the right Salemaekers, to the left Angelino on the wings; the three-man line in front of Silker is composed of Steel, Hummels e N'Dicka. 

The Dutch were very low in the first minutes, it is clear that their game plan includes a lot of defense and quick counterattacks. On the other side, however, the Rome he dribbles a lot, but it is often an inconclusive possession, blocked on the midline, with all the red and whites closed in their own half of the field. This results in a very dull start to the match, devoid of interesting opportunities. It is the errors in the construction phase of the Capitoline team that offer space in depth to the opponents, but on every occasion the red and yellow rearguard manages to recover, without disturbing Silker. On the other hand, the home team always covers the depth very well. It shows some signs of frustration dovbyk, who extended his elbow too far in the 19th minute and hit his opponent, thus receiving the first yellow card of the match.

To see the first shot on target of the evening you have to wait until the 28th minute, when the Rome finally manages to find space in depth. dovbyk receives the ball around 25 metres away and despite the overlapping of his teammates on the left he goes for the goal: however the attempt is central and not too powerful, he blocks it on the ground Owusu-Oduro. A few minutes later, he received the second yellow card of the match hummels, who slides into his opponent, missing the ball and earning a yellow card.

The pressure is increasingAZ Alkmaar and the Roman possession gets very dirty. The red and whites enter more and more often in the Giallorossi half of the pitch, gradually putting the Capitoline rearguard in more and more difficulty. The defence holds up to the pressure, but then struggles to transform the offensive transition into goal-scoring actions. Towards the end, the Dutch spend the two minutes of injury time consistently in the half of the pitch Rome, without however causing problems to Silker and his teammates. The first half thus ends 0-0 at the AFAS Stadion, after a first half of the match devoid of any great goal-scoring opportunities. 

Second half

The recovery begins with a new protagonist on the field, Ranieri in fact he wants a more lively attack and to have it he gives up dovbyk, enters in his place Soulé. The Argentine born in 2003 adds the mobility that Frose had lacked to break down the rearguard of theAZ Alkmaar. In fact, the Capitoline players significantly raise their centre of gravity and, net of a Owusu-Oduro still not very busy, now the Giallorossi manage to penetrate in a concrete way between the Biancorossi shirts. This creates a pinch of nervousness in the Dutch ranks and Meerdink he pays with the first yellow card among his team.

Maartens notes the difficulty of his team and tries to give a positive turn to his team with some changes: they enter Buurmeester for lahdo e Belic for koopmeiners. However, the Giallorossi continue to press on the accelerator, it is a Rome different, more proactive and which forces this AZ to get increasingly dirty in the defensive phase. The competitive spirit increases and two more yellow cards arrive: one for each side with Goes for the Dutch and Saelemaekers in the yellow and reds to end up in the notebook of the bad guys Peljto.

The waltz of changes continues for the Dutch: Inside parrott e Tired, to Meerdink e poku; in Rome instead the time comes for El Shaarawy for Saelemaekers. The substitutions test a reaction from the home team, who about a quarter of an hour from the end of the match become very dangerous, with a nice run down the centre-right that leads to a good cross into the Roma penalty area. Heading Maikuma He strikes from a few steps away, but his header is central, he blocks Silker. It's a warning, because in the 80th minute the home team unlocks it. Nice counterattack on the second that sees the red and whites overturn the field in just a few passes. classic receives on the edge of the area and instead of shooting serves the perfect overlap Moller WolfeLow cross from the full back and touch from close range parrott which is worth 1-0 for the Dutch. 

Ranieri angry on the bench looking for solutions for the final and aims at Baldanzi, going to detect a Paredes colorless in the challenge. The Rome He rushes into the opponent's half for the final part of the game, but struggles to find the final pass that creates the winning move. He is cautioned Belic, who stops the race with a harsh intervention Dybala. The Giallorossi pour in with all their players into the opponent's half of the field, but the Capitoline team doesn't break through. The only real attempt is the left-footed one by Dybala during the last minute of injury time after a nice dribble on the edge of the area, which however does not scare Owusu-Oduro. It is the last emotion of an ugly match, which unfortunately sees the Rome fall once again away, wins theAZ for 1-0 thanks to Parrott's goal. In the standings the Giallorossi will certainly not be among the top 8 Europa League, the passage to the 24 is postponed to the last day of the championship phase.