Roma vs CSKA Sofia: High-flying Giallorossi turn attention back to Europe
Roma will begin their Europa Conference League group stage campaign with a match against Eastern European outfit CSKA Sofia on Thursday evening. It’s been a excellent campaign so far for the Giallorossi under Jose Mourinho, as they come into this game having earned a well-deserved 2-1 win over Sassuolo and now are on top of the Serie A table. Roma will also have added motivation to dispatch their upcoming opponents, as CSKA managed to somehow beat them in the Europa League last season (while holding them to a scoreless draw in Rome), and Mourinho, fresh off winning his 1,000th game as a manager, will be looking to get the Lupi off the mark here. Last season saw Roma make it to the semi-finals of the Europa League, but after finishing in seventh, they’ll have to try their luck in European club football’s tertiary competition.
Some do have the Giallorossi pegged as favorites to win it all, and after the way they’ve started the season so far under Mourinho, why not? Despite losing Edin Dzeko to Inter, Roma appear to be doing just fine, with new signing Tammy Abraham appearing to enjoy his football once again under the Portuguese tactician’s tenure. Other players like Stephan El Shaarawy, who’ve had their ups and downs also appear to be much improved this season, as exhibited by his late goal to finally see off a very stubborn and determined Sassuolo side who were looking to snatch a point. And to make thins even better for Roma, they’ll come into this game with pretty much a full-strength squad, with the previously injured Chris Smalling and Nicolo Zaniolo returning to training to be part of Mourinho’s squad for the Sassuolo match on Sunday.
Roma’s loss to CSKA was merely down to a tactical error by Mourinho’s predecessor, Paulo Fonesca. At that point in time, the Giallorossi were already through to the next round and so Fonesca decided to field a largely second-strong starting XI. It backfired miserably, as CSKA managed to pull off a 3-1 win, and while it didn’t prevent Roma from getting to the next round, losing to the team who finished bottom of their quartet certainly did not do him any favors as he was eventually jettisoned in lieu of Mourinho at the end of last season.
As for Roma’s upcoming opponents, they’re just one of a few teams from their country to even get to this juncture. CSKA also are unbeaten so far in their domestic league, and having managed to frustrate the Lupi in a scoreless stalemate last season, will naturally be hoping to pull off the same kind of result. However, this is a very different Roma side, and it’s safe to say that Mourinho will be highly unlikely to make the same errors his predecessor did. Having won five matches in a row for the first time in his managerial career, the self-described “Special One” will look to make this a special occasion and ensure that Roma kick off their full Europa Conference League campaign in the same roaring fashion they’ve done in Serie A.
