Roma coasted to a comfortable 3-0 victory over struggling
Livorno at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday night in Serie A.
First half goals from Mattia Destro and Kevin Strootman
were added to by a second half Adem Ljajic strike in a win which saw the
Giallorossi move within 5 points of leaders Juventus.
Livorno fans were hoping interim coach Attilio Perotti
could produce something of a miracle after the club jettisoned their head
tactician Davide Nicola last week however the Amaranto got off to the worst
possible start at the Olimpico.
Some nifty work from Adem Ljajic on the right allowed the
Serbian to whip a cross in towards Gervinho whose cheeky flick fell to Destro
who smashed the ball home from point blank range to give Roma the lead after
just 5 minutes, it was their quickest goal of the season thus far.
A Vasilis Torosidis pull back then found Ljajic just
inside the area but he ballooned his first time shot harmlessly over.
A moment of brilliance from Daniele De Rossi followed as
he split the Livorno defence in half with a majestic reverse ball to Destro
whose powerful strike was beaten away by Francesco Bardi.
The Roma onslaught was incessant and it was only some
Bardi heroics which prevented the capital side from doubling their lead, this
time Ljajic with an incisive pass finding Gervinho, the Ivorian’s low drive
saved by the feet of the keeper.
Miralem Pjanic was the next to try his luck again finding
an inspired goalkeeper in his way.
Another flowing move from the Lupi finally brought a
deserved second goal, Strootman mopping up the pieces after Destro’s dinked
effort had been blocked by Leandro Rinaudo.
Gervinho should of made it three just before half time
after heading wide from 6 yards, while Destro thought he had scored his second
only for the goal to be chalked off for
offside after Leandro Castan was adjudged to be interfering with Bardi’s line
of vision.
The first half was all one way traffic with the away side
lucky to find themselves only 2 goals down at the break.
The second half got under way, Livorno having made a
change at half time, Miguel Borja replacing Alfred Duncan in an attempt to
offer some sort of threat going forward.
Yet the game soon settled into a similar pattern as the
first half, the Giallorossi stringing passes together with ease, looking
capable of opening Livorno up at will.
Ten minutes after the restart Leandro Greco was confined
to a long range effort in what was a rare shot at goal for the Amaranto.
The game was becoming a training exercise in attack
versus defence and another fast paced move from the home side culminated in
Pjanic’s side foot effort deflecting wide, the Bosnian then tried his luck from
range forcing Bardi to tip the ball round the post.
A set piece looked Livorno’s only hope of getting on the
score sheet after Nahuel Valentini’s header sailed wide however with an hour
gone it was remarkable that Livorno were still in touching distance of the
Giallorossi.
January signing Radja Nainggolan entered the fray with 20
minutes remaining as Rudi Garcia’s side began to take their foot off the pedal
and aimed to close out the game.
The Belgian substitute was straight into the action
feeding Ljajic, who with only Bardi to beat, saw his tame chipped effort
parried wide.
Rudi Garcia looked on in disbelieve as his team spurned a
host of chances, but Ljajic would soon make a men’s after he was found by
Nainggolan on the edge of the box and fired his shot into the bottom corner to
make it 3-0.
Although the young Livorno keeper had already picked the
ball out of his net 3 times, Bardi was on hand again to deny substitute
Francesco Totti’s fiercely hit drive, his performance the only positive note in
a dire Livorno showing.
It is a result which will hardly appease the Livorno fans
who have already voiced their displeasure earlier this week regarding the
appointment of coach Perotti.
Culled from Forza Italian
