Sinners & Saints: Como 2, Roma 0

Yesterday's 2-0 loss to Como was frustrating for several reasons. Not only did the defeat halt Roma's two-match winning streak, but it came in the most Roma Happened way possible: a stoppage-time winner. While the 90 minutes preceding Alessandro Gabrielloni’s match-winner weren't exactly enjoyable, the Giallorossi seemed poised to leave Como with at least one point intact.

After seeing multiple chances go wanting (primarily via setpieces because, in the run of play, Roma was neither running nor playing), Roma capitulated at the bitter end. And as if that wasn't bad enough, Como tacked on another goal in the 96th minute with nary a Roma defender in sight—it was certainly a night to forget for the capital club.

Even though Roma suffered a shocking defeat and is now just two points above the relegation zone, it's not all doom and gloom. The way Como took charge in the second half is worrying, yet it doesn't resemble the defeats under Ivan Juric when hope was but a distant memory. Roma remains in Claudio Ranieri's safe hands, but they let three essential points slip through their fingers on Sunday.

As one might have guessed, given that outcome, today's S&S is a bit light on halos.

The Saints Mile Svilar

Despite conceding two late goals, the latter of which was essentially a four-vs-one fastbreak, Svilar stood on his head yesterday, making multiple acrobatic saves and turning in the only noteworthy performance for the men in maroon and gold. Facing 18 shots in total, Svilar made five saves, including two in the box, while making one high claim.

Unfortunately, the list of saints ends there...

The Sinners Lorenzo Pellegrini

We'll cut Larry Pilgrims some slight slack here—he only played 28 minutes, after all. Still, only a few days removed from a saintly performance against Braga in the Europa League, Pellegrini laid an egg during his cameo against Como. Brought in to ostensibly give the Giallorossi a spark in a scoreless game, Pellegrini wasn't up to snuff, completing only 79% of his passes, featuring a paltry two forward passes, and turning the ball over four times in only 16 touches.

Artem Dovbyk

With a €30.5 million price tag and over five million in annual wages, it's fair to expect a bit more from your star striker than four goals in 14 league appearances. Roma's attack has sputtered this season, but is Dovbyk the chicken or the egg in this scenario? Whether we're talking about expected goals, actual goals, shot attempts, or shot accuracy, Dovbyk's numbers (on a per 90-minute basis) are down compared to his 24-goal campaign with Girona last season. And yesterday was no different. In 45 minutes, Dovbyk only took 14 touches (losing possession eight times) and failed to register a single attempt on goal.

Photo by Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images

Roma sunk a lot into Dovbyk, and if they stand any chance at climbing out of the almost basement, to say nothing of returning to the Champions League someday, he has to grab the bull by the horns and start asserting himself.

Stuck in Between

Neither sinner nor saint, these players occupied the messy middle ground yesterday.

Niccolo Pisilli: Try as I might, I couldn't find fault with his defending on Gabrielloni’s match-winning goal. If you permit a basketball analogy, Cutrone—who assisted on the goal—did his best Nikola Jokic impersonation here, effectively removing Pisilli from the equation by posting him up before going baseline with a quick drop step for the gimme layup. There wasn't much Pisilli could do there without committing a foul and conceding a PK. Angeliño: What little offense Roma could muster yesterday was thanks to the Spanish full-back, who contributed two key passes and set up one big chance against Como. Paulo Dybala: It would certainly help matters if La Joya started scoring again, but he was no slouch yesterday despite missing the big chance Angeliño created. Zeki Celik: Starting at right center-back instead of his usual full-back spot, Celik contributed six defensive actions and won eight duels. No complaints here. Alexis Saelemaekers: On the plus side, I've nearly got the order and amount of Es in his surname sorted, but Roma's #56 couldn't carry his Lecce performance into this match, managing only one shot on goal and going 0-5 on crosses. Enzo Le Fée: In his first meaningful minutes since early November, Le Fée was rusty but otherwise solid. He won two of three dribbles and contributed five defensive actions in 62 minutes. Now, if we could only get that Baldanzi fella involved again. Manu Koné: After a torrid stretch to life under Ranieri, the 23-year-old midfielder returned to Earth against Como with a ho-hum evening. He'll be fine. Evan Ndicka: If only he were a fraction of a second quicker to the near post on Gabrielloni's goal, Roma might have salvaged a point against Como. As it stands, Ndicka had a relatively quiet evening, though he cleared a game-high seven balls and was a perfect 3-3 on long passes. Mario Hermoso: Unexpectedly thrust into the starting lineup after Mats Hummels fell ill with a fever, Hermoso nearly scored in the 5th minute but still managed a steady if unspectacular 90-minute runout. Saud Abdulhamid: Maybe he's not quite ready to be anointed as an unquestioned starter, but his pace makes him an ever-present threat. However, he wasn't able to harness those gifts against Como. Stephan El Shaarawy: With only 14 touches in 45 minutes, SES spent most of the evening on the periphery, failing to register a shot on goal or a key pass. Gianluca Mancini: Five defensive actions, three accurate long passes (out of seven), and three of four duels won. Nothing to write home about, but he did his job well enough on Sunday, Matías Soulé: To paraphrase Ranieri, Soulé is one for the future, but he was largely invisible in his 14-minute cameo yesterday after playing well over an hour against Braga. There has to be a middle ground somewhere—a developmental Goldilocks Zone, if you will.