Roma kicked off their first game of the Serie A season with a 2-2 draw against Salernitana in what was a surprising result in the opening gameweek of the league.
The action started early, as Andrea Belotti had a goal ruled out through VAR in the seventh minute. That set the tone for what was an enthralling game. Belotti then did strike in the 17th minute, with a slotted finish from close distance.
Following the goal, Roma had a spell of domination, attempting many efforts on goal and keeping the ball in the Salernitana half. The Granata had their equaliser in the 36th minute when the veteran Antonio Candreva rifled a shot into the roof of the net.
Salernitana came out quickly in the second half and the 36 year old Candreva doubled his goal tally, this time fantastically finessing a shot into the corner of the goal, from the edge of the box. Roma attempted to drive forward without much success, which spurred a number of changes from the bench.
Jose Mourinho, not on the touchline following suspension, changed four players in one go, in the 65th minute. A couple of new signings, including Renato Sanches and Leandro Paredes came into the fray. The game turned very scrappy, and Salernitana received two yellow cards in the space of two minutes for some cynical fouls.
The Granata made a couple of substitutions of their own just before the 80th minute, but in hindsight changes that late, from a winning position may just have negatively altered the balance of the team. The main man for Roma, Andrea Belotti struck again in the 82nd minute, scoring from a corner to square the game at 2-2.
There was to be no dramatic ending to a fascinating game, as both sides had to accept a draw. Belotti and Candreva shared all four goals between them, with Candreva in particular scoring both of his in fine fashion.
Roma move on next week to face Hellas Verona, whilst Salernitana have a home fixture against Udinese.
Japtej Ghura | GIFN
