Out-of-favour Roma icon Francesco Totti provided his first assist of the season in a frustrating 1-1 draw with Bologna that dented hopes of claiming Serie A's second automatic Champions League qualifying spot.
Roma's Francesco Totti (L) controls the ball during their Serie A
football match against Bologna, in Rome's Olympic stadium. (AP
Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
MILAN: Out-of-favour Roma icon Francesco Totti provided his
first assist of the season in a frustrating 1-1 draw with Bologna that
dented hopes of claiming Serie A's second automatic Champions League
qualifying spot.
Totti's future at the club for whom he has played 23 seasons
is a hot topic in Italy as the Serie A giants stall on offering the
39-year-old an extra year's deal.
Partially due to injury, Totti has made only a handful of
appearances this season, but when 'Il Re di Roma' (the King of Rome)
replaced Iago Falque at half-time he made an almost immediate impact.
Roma were trailing 1-0 after a 25th minute opener by Luca
Rossettini, who capitalised on a moment of hesitation from Wojciech
Szczesny at a free kick to beat the Roma 'keeper at his far post.
Lively Egyptian winger Mohamed Salah had already hit the
post in the opening half and found the woodwork again minutes after the
restart.
But Salah made no mistake when he collected Totti's through
ball moments later. With only the 'keeper to beat after Bologna's
offside trap malfunctioned, Salah slid the ball easily past Antonio
Mirante to pull the scores level on 50 minutes.
Lacking pace and looking quickly out of breath, Totti's
vision and pinpoint passing to players in better positions helped make
amends, all to no avail.
On 54 minutes he curled in a delightful ball towards the back post but Miralem Pjanic slid in just too late.
When Salah collected Totti's through ball towards the end of
the half, he unleashed a drive from 22 yards that brushed the bottom of
Mirante's upright.
Roma dominated a resolute Bologna throughout, but had to settle for
just their third draw since coach Luciano Spalletti took over from
sacked Frenchman Rudi Garcia in February.
"We didn't win tonight but the lads played good football and
Bologna did well to take a share of the spoils," Spalletti told Rai.
The Roma coach got irked when it was suggested Totti had made a positive
contribution.
Two months ago, a spat between the pair erupted after Totti
claimed he should be playing more and deserved more respect by the club,
prompting Spalletti to declare the club captain was "no better" than
many other players at his disposal.
Spalletti added: "It's you who says it. I've always had
Totti available, and when I feel he can give me something then he plays,
as happened tonight. He strengthened the team and gave the fans a
little boost."
Juventus remain top and on course for a record-equalling
fifth consecutive scudetto after a 2-1 win at AC Milan on Saturday
maintained their six-point lead on second-placed Napoli, who beat Verona
3-0 minus Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain as he sat out the first
match of a three-game ban.
Roma remain third at six points behind Napoli and five and seven points ahead of Inter Milan and Fiorentina respectively.
- AFP/de
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