Aleksandar Kolarov gave Roma the slenderest of 1-0 victories at Torino on Sunday with one of his trademark free-kicks.
The Serbian stepped up to the mark with a little over twenty minutes left to play by curling home a stunning set piece into the near top corner.
The win puts Roma, who have a game in hand, seven points adrift of leaders Napoli. Toro meanwhile see their winless run stretch to four.
Torino set out with the intention of frustrating Roma with the Granata’s two widemen Falque and Niang often dropping back to flood the midfield.
With Toro stifling Roma’s playmakers through the middle the Giallorossi’s only attacking outlet came from set plays and crosses from out wide.
The tactical nature of the contest meant chances were few and far between with the only noteworthy opportunities coming in the closing stages of the first half.
Sadiq – deputising once again for the injured Belotti – had the hosts’ best chance only to blaze over the bar from a golden position after a neat through ball from Ljajic.
At the other end, Sirigu had to be alert to tip over the bar an audacious long range effort from Florenzi. From the resulting corner, Strootman somehow failed to tap in from close range.
Both sides exchanged blows at the restart as Nainggolan and Ljajic tried their luck from distance but with the stalemate continuing it was going to take something special to break the deadlock.
With just over twenty minutes to go, Kolarov answered the call curling a peach of a free kick past Sirigu and putting the Romans in front.
Ariccojete sti spicci ?#Kolarov #TorinoRoma pic.twitter.com/W91VRhDFaD
— CRIS (@romatheclub) October 22, 2017
Torino pinned the Giallorossi back in the closing stages of the game but Roma held firm to take home maximum points and bounce back from last week’s loss to Napoli.
In contrast the Granata’s winless run stretched to four, complicating their Euro ambitions.
MATCH FACTS
- Roma have now equalled the longest away winning streak in the Serie A history (11).
- Aleksandar Kolarov is the first player to score two goals from direct free-kicks in Serie A this season.
- Roma have failed to score in the first half of their last three Serie A games, after they had scored at least one goal before half-time in each of their previous 11 league fixtures.
- Roma have scored in each of their last 15 Serie A matches against Torino.
- Torino conceded 15 fouls in the first half – more than any other side in the opening 45 minutes of a Serie A game this season.
- Overall, only Genoa (28 v Sassuolo) conceded more fouls than Torino v Roma (26) in a Serie A game this season.
- The Granata have conceded goals in each of their last six Serie A games.
- Since their return in Serie A in 2012, this is only the third time that Torino have failed to attempt a single shot on target in a league game.
- Radja Nainggolan was involved in five of Roma’s 14 shots today (two shots attempted, three chances created).
- Daniele De Rossi had the most recoveries in this match (11).
- Umar Sadiq lost 17 duels today, out of 22 faced in total: only Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (19 out of 26) has lost more in a Serie A game this season.
