It was all going so well for Zdenek Zeman and his trademark brand of attacking football. Then, AS Roma took their eyes off the ball, or perhaps their feet, and went from beating Bologna 2-0 to losing 3-2 at the Stadio Olimpico. Fun, attacking football is all well and good, but if Roma can't get the wins, patience will surely wear thin.
Roma 2-3 Bologna: Disaster At Olimpico As Bologna Stage Dramatic Comeback
Alessandro Florenzi gave the home side an early lead in the 6th minute. Francesco Totti, looking positively rejuvenated under Zeman, sent his shot off the post, but Florenzi was there to head it past a helpless Federico Agliardi. All good, so far.
Just ten minutes later, the woodwork was there to assist again. Erik Lamela sent his shot off the post, doubtless making Agliardi wonder what he'd done to deserve such punishment. The shot was a long-range beauty, though, and there was nothing much that the Bologna keeper or his defenders could have done to stop it.
In fact, it turned out that all Bologna needed to do was sit back and wait for Roma to self-destruct. In the 69th minute, Zeman, continuing to show just how attack minded he is, replaced Lamela with Nico Lopez -- and it all went downhill from there (although the giallorossi had looked as though their heads were elsewhere for the majority of the second half).
Alberto Gilardino struck first, escaping his marker to head the ball past Maarten Stekelenburg. Less than a minute later, Bologna found their equaliser, through a bouncing shot by Alessandro Diamanti.
It would have been bad enough for Roma had the match ended in a draw. But Gilardino struck again in extra time -- or, to be more accurate, Stekelenburg struck. He fumbled a cross from Gyorgy Garics, losing the ball and allowing Gilardino to tap in the winning goal.
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