Frenchman Cyril Thereau scored a 90th-minute volley for Serie A minnows AC Chievo Verona to secure a 1-0 win over AS Roma and upset the capital club’s hopes of Europa League soccer next season.
Roma remain in fifth place on 58 points, but risked being overtaken by Udinese (57) if the northerners won at US Citta di Palermo yesterday, when SS Lazio, in seventh on 55, were also looking to draw level with their city rvials.
“We stuttered through the first half, but we should have finished the game earlier,” Roma coach Aurelio Andreazzoli said. “Chievo didn’t give our defense too many problems, but we knew they were dangerous on the counterattack.”
Photo: AFP
Chievo, meanwhile, achieved their aim of pulling far enough away from the relegation zone to secure top-flight soccer next season.
“It’s an important result for us, but it’s all down to the players,” Chievo coach Eugenio Corini said. “They are the ones who go out and play, and try to put my ideas into action.”
Roma reserve goalkeeper Bogdan Lobont started despite fracturing his nose in the 1-0 away win to ACF Fiorentina on Saturday because No. 1 choice Maarten Stekelenburg was still injured.
Photo: EPA
Andreazzoli, meanwhile, left some regulars on the bench, including striker Erik Lamela and US midfielder Michael Bradley, as he tested a 3-4-1-2 system and a new front pairing of Pablo Osvaldo and Mattia Destro.
Chievo, who were looking to pull away from the relegation zone, came out on top, at least in defensive terms, after a fairly balanced first half in which Roma shaded the visitors for the few real scoring chances created.
Chievo goalkeeper Cristian Puggioni was alert to prevent a threatening cross from reaching Destro, while an Ivan Piris cut-back from the byline following Francesco Totti’s smart through-ball set up Osvaldo, only for Puggioni to get low to smother the striker’s shot.
Photo: AFP
In the dying seconds of the half Totti sent a free-kick through a hole in the defensive wall to force Puggioni to block.
Thereau came close for the visitors moments after the restart, but it was Roma who were most frustrated after missing a hatfull of chances.
Destro showed great control on the edge of the area by avoiding two tackles, but Puggioni did well to collect the striker’s shot.
Totti then unleashed a drive from long range which took a deflection before hitting the crossbar, while Puggioni thwarted Destro from close range after a corner by Miralem Pjanic.
Roma looked to be edging closer to the opener when Dodo combined well with Destro on the left, but a superb sliding tackle by defender Marco Andreolli came to Chievo’s rescue.
Lamela finally made an appearance, replacing Pjanic in the 72nd minute, while Destro made way for Bradley minutes later.
However, Roma soon began to lose momentum. Andreazzoli’s men appeared fatigued when Chievo began to counterattack and were given a first warning when Chilean midfielder Felipe Seymour stung Lobont’s palms with a drive in the dying minutes.
As the match wound down to a close, Roma crucially failed to pick up Senegalese defender Boukary Drame as he charged down the left and when he whipped in a cross it beat the Roma defense and allowed Thereau to poke the ball home.
Manchester United on Tuesday confirmed Michael Carrick as interim manager until the end of the season, tasking him with leading the Red Devils back into the UEFA Champions League. “Having the responsibility to lead Manchester United is an honor,” said Carrick, 44, who won 12 major trophies in his 12-year playing career at United. The former midfielder previously had an unbeaten three-game stint as caretaker boss at Old Trafford in 2021. Carrick then took on his first permanent managerial role at second-tier Middlesbrough in October 2022 and was sacked in June last year after the club finished 10th in the
Mohamed Salah’s Egypt knocked reigning champions Ivory Coast out of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with a 3-2 win in the quarter-finals on Saturday, while Victor Osimhen starred as Nigeria beat Algeria 2-0 to set up a clash with hosts Morocco. In Agadir, Morocco, a thrilling last-eight tie saw Omar Marmoush and Ramy Rabia net in the first half for the Pharaohs before an own goal by Ahmed Aboul-Fetouh brought the Ivorians back into it. Salah then got Egypt’s third early in the second half and they held on after Guela Doue again reduced the deficit. Egypt is to face Senegal
AUSTRALIAN ADVENTURE: Sabalenka aims to follow up with a third Australian Open win, while Taiwanese Joanna Garland claimed a WTA 125 title in Canberra Aryna Sabalenka beat Karolina Muchova in straight sets to reach her third Brisbane International final in a row yesterday, a week ahead of the Australian Open. Sabalenka looked in great touch against the tricky Czech, who had won their last three meetings and went into the match as one of the few players with a winning record over the world No. 1. However, Sabalenka showed her class and power as she broke Muchova once in each set to take the semi-final 6-3, 6-4 in 89 minutes to face Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the final. “I struggled against her a couple of times [in
Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Sunday sparked defending champions Oklahoma City to victory, while Anthony Edwards led Minnesota’s last-minute fightback to beat San Antonio. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points while adding eight assists and five rebounds in the Thunder’s 124-112 home victory over Miami, improving the NBA’s best record to 33-7 after outscoring the Heat 70-53 in the second half. “We locked in defensively. We were finally able to get some stops,” Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins said. “We were able to get out in transition a little bit, get going offensively and find the flow.” Jalen Williams scored 18 points, while
RSS