Chievo Verona Vs. AS Roma: Simplicio Puts Roma Ahead On A Disaster Of A Pitch

Simplício has broken the deadlock early on in Verona, scoring the opener for Roma against Chievo.

In a match in which the most remarkable element of the first 25 minutes was the state of the pitch-the entire center of the field is marred by mud and bumps-the Brazilian Simplício provided some much needed grace with his goal. The majority of the match has been marked by long balls up and down the pitch, and once again, one came in to Chievo midfielder Luca Rigoni. Simplício, just behind, stuck out his leg and used his toe to flick the ball over Rigoni’s head. Two more flicks enabled the Roma midfielder to turn around and shoot, neatly sliding the ball into the net.

It seems unlikely we’ll see more goals of such quality in this match. While the play is finally moving out toward the wings, where the pitch is slightly better, the players are still (almost inevitably) resorting to play more befitting of English sides of decades past.