Atalanta – Rakow 2-0
Markers: 4’st De Ketelaere, 21’st Ederson
Atalanta (3-4-3): Musso 6.5; Toloi 6, Djimsiti 6.5, Scalvini 6; Zappacosta 6.5 (31’st Holm 6), De Roon 6 (17’st Ederson 7), Koopmeiners 6.5, Ruggeri 6.5; De Ketelaere 7 (47’st Bakker sv), Muriel 5.5 (17’st Miranchuk 6), Lookman 6 (31’st Pasalic 6). On the bench: Carnesecchi, Rossi, Palomino, Bakker, Zortea, Kolasinac, Adopo, Hateboer. Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini 6.5
Rakow (3-4-3): V. Kovacevic 6.5; Racovitan 5, A.Kovacevic 5.5, Rundic 5; Sorescu 5.5, Berggren 6 (25’st Lederman 5.5), Papanikolaou 5.5, Plavsic 5 (33’st Jean Carlos 6); Yeboah 5.5 (16’st Kittel 6), Zwolinski 5 (25’st Crnac 6), Kochergin 5 (16’st Cebula 6). On the bench: Tsiftsis, Nowak, Piasecki. Coach: Dawid Szwarga 6
Referee: Roi Reinshreiber (Israel) 6
Note: playing field in good condition. Attendance: 13,698. Booked: De Roon. Corners: 11-0. Recovery: 1’pt, 4’st
Atalanta celebrates their return to Europe with a victory. The Bergamo team won 2-0 against Rakow thanks to goals from De Ketelaere and Ederson, both of which came in the second half. Very important success for Gasperini’s men: Koopmeiners and his teammates have turned the page after the defeat in Florence and send a signal to Sporting, their next opponent in the Europa League and today a 2-1 winner at Sturm Graz. Without Gianluca Scamacca – the Italian striker could return after the international break -, Gasperini has deployed Luis Muriel at the center of the attack, supported by De Ketelaere and Lookman. Mirror form for Rakow, Szwarga decided to play it practically man against man leaving little space for the Nerazzurri: the Colombian tried with a diagonal shot after a few minutes, but the most tempting opportunity was that of Lookman, the Anglo-Nigerian he was stopped by an instinctive intervention by Kovacevic. The hosts struggled to find openings, Muriel himself devoured the opening goal from two steps away with a header from inside the small area.
Sheriff Tiraspol – Roma 1-2
Markers: 49′ pt auto. Kiki, 12′ st Tovar, 20′ st Lukaku
Sheriff (4-3-3): Koval 6; Tovar 6 (43′ st Luvannor sv), Kiki 5.5, Garananga 6, Artunduaga 6 (43′ st Apostolakis sv); Zohouri 6, Ademo 6, Fernandes 5; Ankeye 6 (26′ st Ricardinho 6), Talal 5 (51′ st Botan sv), Mbekell 6.5. On the bench: Straistari, Pascenco, Berkay Vardar, Dijinari, Coli, Novicov. Coach: Bordin 6.
Rome (3-5-2): Svilar 6; Mancini 6, Llorente 6, Ndicka 6; Karsdorp 6, Renato Sanches 5.5 (28′ st Paredes 7), Cristante 6.5, Aouar 5 (16′ st Bove 6.5), Zalewski 5.5 (26′ st Spinazzola 6); El Shaarawy 6 (16′ st Dybala 6.5), Lukaku 7 (35′ st Belotti sv). On the bench: Rui Patrìcio, Boer, Celik, Pagano, Pisilli, Mannini, D’Alessio. Coach: Mourinho (suspended, Foti on the bench) 6.
Referee: Treimanis (LVA) 6.
Note: clear evening, ground in good condition. In the 52nd minute Fernandes was sent off for a direct red card (protests). Booked: Talal, Cristante, Kiki, Apostolakis, Fernandes. Corners: 4-2. Recovery time: 5′ time, 7′ time.
Roma beat Sheriff 2-1 in Moldova and took the first three points of group G of the Europa League. An own goal from Kiki on a shot from Paredes and Lukaku’s second goal of the season earned them the victory in the group with Slavia Prague (3 points on debut after the away win against Servette). Shy, not very decisive in tackling and with little fluidity of possession, Roma seem a distant relative of the one that overwhelmed Empoli in the last round of the championship. Added to this is also a discordant note from the infirmary. In the 28th minute Renato Sanches stopped and asked for a substitution and was replaced by Paredes. The pace doesn’t change and Sheriff has the first scoring opportunity. In the 35th minute Talal sends a cross into the area, Mbekeli anticipates Karsdorp and hits the post with his right foot. The response is entrusted to El Shaarawy: the Italian-Egyptian sprints deep and unsuccessfully attempts the diagonal with his right. Roma, however, goes into the locker room with a one-goal lead thanks to a gift from Sheriff. In the fourth minute of injury time, a long-range free kick from Paredes was deflected first by Talal and then by Kiki. The latter was the decisive touch that shocked Koval, even if UEFA awarded the goal to the Argentine midfielder. In the 57th minute Sheriff equalised. Following a corner kick and a melee in the area, Tovar emerges victorious and kicks into the net with his right foot. Mourinho resorts to a triple substitution: Aouar, Zalewski and El Shaarawy out; inside Bove, Spinazzola and Dybala. It is the Argentine who starts the action to make it 2-1 in the 65th minute, but much of the credit goes to Cristante who frees Lukaku to shoot with his heel: the Belgian takes care of the rest with a dribble in the area and the winning left-footed shot. In the final in the 89th minute, the usual Cristante came close to making it 3-1, while Sheriff (who closed with 10 men due to a red card to Fernandes) protested for Svilar’s exit on Talal in the area. For the referee and the VAR there is no penalty. And Roma will enjoy the three points in view of the next match against Servette on 5 October.
Genk – Fiorentina 2-2
Scorers: 7′ pt and 23′ pt Ranieri, 12′ pt Zeqiri, 40′ st Mckenzie
Genk (4-4-2): Vandevoordt 5.5; Munoz 6, Sadick Aliu 5.5, Mckenzie 7, Arteaga 6; Oyen 6 (32′ El Hadj 6), Heynen 5.5, Galarza 6, El Khannous 6.5 (43′ st Hrosovsky sv); Zeqiri 7 (27′ st Arokodare 6), Fadera 5.5 (1′ st Bonsu Baah 6.5). On the bench: Chambaere, Van Crombrugge, Cuesta, Kongolo, Ouattara, Sor, El Ouahdi. Coach: Vrancken 6.
Fiorentina (4-3-3): Christensen 6; Kayode 6, Milenkovic 6.5, Ranieri 7.5, Biraghi 6 (18′ st Parisi 6); Arthur 6, Mandragora 5.5 (19′ st Lopez 5.5), Duncan 5; Gonzalez 6 (1′ st Kouame 5.5), Beltran 5.5 (27′ st Nzola 5), Sottil 6.5 (27′ st Brekalo 5.5). On the bench: Comuzzo, Terracciano, Dodo, Martinez Quarta Amatucci, Barak, Infantino. Coach: Italian 6.
Referee: Frappart (France) 6.
Note: rainy evening, pitch in fair condition. Booked: Munoz, Mandragora, Biraghi. Corners: 4-4. Recovery time: 4′, 5′.
Ranieri’s brace wasn’t enough: Fiorentina drew 2-2 in Genk, Belgium, in the debut match of this Conference League. The Viola took the lead with the Ligurian defender on a corner kick in the seventh, then Zeqiri equalized in the 12th after a carom in the area. Ranieri again, again with an assist from Biraghi, gave the Viola the lead again in the 23rd minute but in the final, in the 85th minute, the second Belgian goal arrived with McKenzie quick to head in a corner kick.