At 0:00 a.m. Beijing time on April 4, the 31st round of Serie A ushered in a focus battle: Jose Mourinho's Roma away to rival Sampdoria.
In the pre-match Serie A table, Roma ranked sixth with 51 points in 30 games, 8 points behind fourth-place Juventus, and there is still hope for the fourth place. Sampdoria scored 29 points in 30 games, ranking 16th.
Roma started 3421, Tammy Abraham played in the center, on both sides Pellegrini, Mkhitaryan, midfielders Zalevsky, Oliveira, Christant, Karlstop, three centre-backs Ibanes, Smalling, G. Mancini, goalkeeper Patricio. The total value of the starting eleven is 210 million euros.
Sampdoria started 4132, with Caputo and Sabiri double forwards. The total value of the starting eleven is 45 million euros.
After the game began, the two sides attacked and defended each other. In the 2nd minute, Sampdoria broke the ball in front of him and Sosby pumped a shot from the left side of the penalty area that went high over the crossbar. In the 5th minute, Roma's corner kick was released and Ibanez's header was deflected off the top of the goal.
In the 21st minute, Caputo shot from distance and was held by Patricio on the ground.
In the 27th minute, Roma counter-attacked, Pellegrini obliquely blocked, Zalevsky's cross from the left, Abraham's back-point grab was interfered with, and Mkhitaryan followed up with a shot that bounced off the defender and bounced into the goal. Roma led Sampdoria 1-0.
In the 38th minute, Sampdoria made a low-level mistake at the back, Bereshensky returned the pass to the goalkeeper, Abraham grabbed the ball, turned around and hit the side-netting, missing a good opportunity to extend the score.
In the 42nd minute, Sampdoria took a free kick in front of him and Sabiri's direct shot was held by Patricio.
In first-half stoppage time, Roma's corner kick was set off and Mancini's header went high over the crossbar.
In the 65th minute, Ogiello's cross from the left was stopped by Sabiri in the belly and turned to shoot, which was held by Patricio.
In the 79th minute, Pellegrini launched an attack on the right, Mkhitaryan went straight, and Tammy Abraham stopped the ball and adjusted to shoot, hitting the defender and popping up the bottom line.
In the 83rd minute, Sabiri took the ball from the front of the penalty area and adjusted the shot, which was blocked by the defender, and Patricio came out to confiscate the ball.
In the 87th minute, Sampdoria counter-attacked, Candreva reversed the triangle back, Quagliarella took the ball and shot at Smalling.
Sampdoria had many opportunities to attack, but they were all defused by Patricio, who was a brave man.
In the 91st minute, Japan international Maya Yoshida came on as a substitute to replace Ferrari.
In the end, with Mkhitaryan's goal, Roma won a small away victory over Sampdoria. Mourinho's side scored 54 points in 31 games, rising to fifth in the Serie A table, five points behind fourth-place Juventus in one round.
Starting with a 1-0 home win over Cagliari in the 22nd round, Roma are unbeaten in their last 10 Serie A games, 6 wins and 4 draws.