Sinners & Saints: Roma 1, Athletic Club 1

Four days after delighting the capital with a rousing 3-0 win over then league-leading Udinese, Ivan Juric got his first real taste of the Roma experience. Tearing a page from the same script that upended Udinese, Juric hit Athletic Cub with his patented torrent of pressing, passing, and pestering, dominating possession for large swaths of the match.

However, there was one small problem: that possession didn't lead to a barrage of attempts. In 90 minutes last night, Juric's squad managed only five shots on goal while conceding 12 at the other end. The good news is that the Giallorossi capitalized on one of those five attempts, a sublime cross/header combination between Angeliño and Artem Dovbyk, but that was all she wrote for the Roma attack last night.

And in grand Roma Happened fashion, the Giallorossi's utter lack of an attack bit them in the ass at the worst possible moment. For the second time in their last three matches, Roma conceded a late equalizer, dropping two precious points at the death.

With seven matches remaining in the league phase, Roma has ample time to gain ground, but last night's performance further proves that the organization's problems run deeper than the man on the touchline.

But that's a discussion for another day. For now, let's sift through the wreckage and separate the sinners from the saints.

The Saints Angeliño

The more we see of this guy, the more it feels like Roma stumbled into a legitimate, long-term solution at the left-back position. After a rather nomadic career that took him everywhere from Manchester to New York to Hoffenheim, Angeliño has found a home in Rome. In 90 minutes last night, Angeliño was Roma's highest-rated player, setting up Dovbyk's goal with a picture-perfect cross while adding seven defensive actions for good measure.

Hopefully, Juric will continue to squeeze these performances out of Angeliño, who has arguably been Roma's best defender on the young season.

Gianluca Mancini

Speaking of defenders, Roma's vice-captain turned in a sterling performance last night. In 90 minutes against Athletic Club, Mancini compiled a match-high nine defensive actions (clearances, blocks, interceptions, and tackles) while completing 88% of his passes.

Bryan Cristante

The poster boy for Roma fan frustration, the embattled midfielder stitched together his best performance of the season. Playing the entire match, Cristante completed 86% of his passes, including a team-high five balls into the final third. He also served up four progressive passes, trailing only Tommaso Baldanzi's five. On the other side of the ball, Cristante added two clearances, one blocked shot, four interceptions, and one tackle to his haul.

Evan Ndicka

The Ivorian defender completed an impressive 95% of his passes last night, including 50% of his long balls. He also covered 82 yards of progressive distance while carrying the ball, the second-highest mark among Roma's outfield players. Defensively, Ndicka won all six of his duels and added eight defensive actions, including a team-high four tackles.

Artem Dovbyk

Outside of his goal, it wasn't a terribly impressive performance, at least from a statistical point of view. However, his off-the-ball movement and sheer physical presence add value that can't necessarily be measured by traditional means. And with three goals on the trot, Dovbyk's first season in Italy is shaping up to be a good one.

Given that there weren't any egregious errors from the men in maroon last night, we'll keep the pitchforks in the shed for the time being and focus on the men stuck between damnation and sainthood.

Stuck In Between Mario Hermoso: Nine defensive actions in 90 minutes, but he wasn't quite on the same level as Mancini and Ndicka. Still, once Mats Hummels gets up to speed, Juric will have four capable CBs at his disposal. When was the last time we could say that? Zeki Celik: Still the starter by default, Celik was solid against Athletic Club, creating one big chance and adding three defensive actions in 71 minutes. Manu Koné: Five defensive actions, five ball recoveries, 10 duels won, and two for three on long passes. Not too shabby. Paulo Dybala: He couldn't do much in a truncated 45-minute appearance but appears to have dodged any significant injury, so let's chalk that up as a win. Tommaso Baldanzi: He certainly had his name called quite a bit by the British announcer, albeit as Tommaso Balzini, but the diminutive midfielder was otherwise inconspicuous last night, though he led the club in progressive carries. Matías Soulé: Starting the second half in place of Dybala, Soulé had a bit of an odd evening, missing one big chance, creating two shots and recovering five balls. Juric insists that his preferred style of play can accommodate Soulé, but color me skeptical. Niccolo Pisilli: The teenage midfielder only got 13 touches in 27 minutes on the pitch but completed all four passes and won two of eight duels. Saud Abulhamid: The Saudi full-back made his Roman debut last night, logging 19 mostly anonymous minutes. Mile Svilar: One save and three high claims in 90 minutes. Leandro Paredes/Eldor Shomurodov: The last men off the bench, Lovely Leo and Shomu played only nine token minutes against Athletic Club.