Roma 0-0 AC Milan: Tired Giallorossi fail to close gap on Juventus

Date: 20th December 2014 at 10:44pm
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Roma were held to a 0-0 draw by AC Milan at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday evening in Serie A.

Neither side managed to trouble the scoreboard in what was a less than entertaining game.  Roma dominated much of the match but despite the sending off of Milan defender Pablo Armero, the Giallorossi were unable to close the gap on league leaders Juventus.

The away side started brightly and after only 80 seconds Roma goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis was forced into a double save, first from Keisuke Honda and then Andrea Poli, who had followed up the rebound.

The Giallorossi had to wait till the 14th minute for their first real attempt at goal, as a Francesco Totti free kick was deflected over for a corner. Five minutes later, Alessandro Florenzi wriggled free of his marker Philippe Mexes but his shot was palmed away by keeper Diego Lopez as Roma began to take control of the half.

From the resulting corner Daniele De Rossi was unable to steer the ball into the net from inside the six yard box.

Roma continued to pile on the pressure and another Totti free kick stung the finger tips of Diego Lopez.  Ivorian Gervinho was the next to test the Milan goalie, as his mazy run and shot was blocked by the Spanish keeper’s legs.

The home side then had a huge shout for a penalty turned down as Nigel De Jong clearly palmed the ball away from the head of Gervinho just as the striker seemed poised to nod home from a corner.  Referee Nicola Rizzoli was not convinced despite protests from Rudi Garcia’s men.

On 38 minutes, the Rossoneri finally managed a strike at goal as Philippe Mexes hit an audacious 45 yard shot which forced De Sanctis into an awkward save in what was a very one-sided opening 45 minutes.

The second half started with a much more motivated Milan as Jeremy Menez had an early chance pushed away by De Sanctis. Andrea Poli also tried his luck from distance but his scuffed shot went wide of the goal.  Moments later, Giacomo Bonaventura forced the Roma keeper into a smart save as the Rossoneri looked a different side to that of the opening half.

Roma coach Garcia was the first to make a switch after 66 minutes, as Adem Ljajic replaced Florenzi in attack but the away side continued to have the majority of possession.

However, a second yellow card shown to full back Pablo Armero left Inzaghi’s side down to ten men with 20 minutes to play. The Milan tactician immediately reacted by bringing on centre back Alex for Japanese international Honda in an attempt to bring back some balance to his team.

The sending off served as a jolt to the Roman side as the extra man swung possession back in their favour with Garcia bringing on striker Mattia Destro for De Rossi in the hope of capitalising on their new found energy.

But a technically poor second half failed to provoke much emotion despite the home side’s numerical superiority until the second minute of injury time.  Another typical Gervinho dribble saw the striker through on goal but his shot was smothered by the impressive Diego Lopez.

The referee signalled an end to proceedings after five minutes of time added on with Milan undoubtedly leaving the happier of the two sides.

 

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