Sergio Oliveira’s solitary strike was enough for AS Roma to secure the maximum points.
Oliveira earned and converted a penalty on his Roma debut to seal victory for the Giallorossi.
Cagliari would have scored a late equalizer, but all thanks to Rui Patricio’s save and the crossbar that denied their opponent.
This is a good response for The Giallorossi that suffered a 4-3 defeat to Juventus. A few days after completing his move from Porto, Jose Mourinho threw Sergio Oliveira into the start for his debut, joining Ainsley Maitland-Niles.
In the opening four minutes of the game, there was controversy as the referee pointed to the spot. But after a VAR on-field review, the decision was overturned because Andrea Carboni tackle on Nicolò Zaniolo got the ball.
Tammy Abraham failed to give Roma the lead as he couldn’t get enough power to his header on the Maitland-Niles cross, allowing Alessio Cragno to smother.
The referee used the VAR again, but this time it was a penalty to Roma. Dalbert used an outstretched arm to charge down Oliveira’s shot. The Portuguese midfielder was given the responsibility, and he succeeded in scoring it himself on his Giallorossi debut.
Veretout couldn’t extend Roma’s lead further because he couldn’t get enough power to a Mkhitaryan assist.
Zaniolo also saw his shot go wide after dribbling into the box for an angled drive. Roma continued the attack, but Eldor Shomurodov scuffed his finish straight at Cragno.
With so many chances wasted, Roma were almost punished in the final minutes. Cagliari skipper Joao Pedro flicked a ball from the right, and Rui Patricio stopped it from going into the net with a decisive reaction save from point-blank range. The Portuguese volley succeeded in pushing it onto the crossbar.
Nahitan Nandez couldn’t utilize the last chance of the game after chesting down a cross-field pass and the bounce just allowing Rui Patricio to get there first.
Meanwhile, Inter Milan and Atalanta played out a goalless draw. Inter remain top of the Serie A table with 50 points, two points above AC Milan, who are second.
Written by: Oladipupo Mojeed
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