Roma Players vs Tottenham: Hummels from Flop to Top | OneFootball

Roma salvaged a late draw in North London on Thursday evening, holding Tottenham Hotspur to a nerve-wracking 2-2 draw. One of the most exciting match-ups in the UEFA Europa League calendar lived up to the billing, delivering plenty of drama and breathtaking moments.

Claudio Ranieri couldn’t take his three points in his second match since returning to Roma, but he can be proud of his team’s performance in England’s capital. However, the game didn’t start well for the Giallorossi as Mats Hummels conceded an early penalty, allowing Son Heung-min to propel Tottenham to an early lead.

Roma fought back almost instantaneously through Evan Ndicka. The Ivorian center-back got on the end of Paulo Dybala’s set-piece delivery to level the score with a fortuitous flick. Spurs reclaimed their lead midway through the first half as Brennan Johnson latched onto Dejan Kulusevski’s cutback, firing the ball home from close range.

After a catalog of misses on both ends of the pitch, Roma broke Tottenham fans’ hearts in second-half stoppages. Hummels atoned for his early mistake, pouncing on Angelino’s cross to inspire the Giallorossi to their third draw in five Europa League fixtures this season.

Despite avoiding defeat on a challenging trip, another point may have effectively ended Roma’s hopes of securing automatic knockout qualification. Without further ado, let’s look at our player ratings.

Roma (3-4-3)

Mile Svilar – 7

Though he conceded twice in the opening 35 minutes, the Serbian goalkeeper was one of the reasons Roma walked away with a point, pulling off numerous impressive saves.

Gianluca Mancini – 6

It wasn’t an ideal night for the Italian defender. In addition to being outplayed by Kulusevski for Tottenham’s second, he often seemed on the back foot against the Swede and Son throughout the game.

Evan Ndicka – 7.5

The goal came as a fitting reward for the Ivorian’s standout performance as he made light work of Dominic Solanke, dominating the English striker in the air and on the ground.

Mats Hummels – 7

The German’s vast experience helped him move on from an early blunder to patch Roma’s defensive woes and eventually become the visitors’ hero with a last-gasp equalizer.

Angelino – 7.5

The diminutive wingback enjoyed perhaps his best game in the Roma shirt. After making a vital goal-line clearance in the first half, he delivered a crucial assist for Hummels.

Leandro Paredes – 6.5

Although unable to stay away from the referee’s notebook, the Argentine’s energy and determination helped the Italian side weather the storm toward the end of the first half.

Manu Kone – 6.5

He’s such an elegant midfielder. However, he couldn’t make the difference tonight despite coming close to restoring parity early in the second half, only to see his well-taken effort fly a whisker wide of the near post.

Zeki Celik – 6

His dreadful crossing frequently let him down, but he at least held up his end of the bargain in defense.

Paulo Dybala – 7.5

Apart from the assist, the superstar forward was undoubtedly Roma’s most eventful player, pulling all the strings in the final third before being subbed off at halftime.

Artem Dovbyk – 6

Had he timed his runs better, Roma would’ve probably left London victorious. Instead, he saw the linesman’s flag deny him a goal and an assist inside the opening 15 minutes of the second half.

Stephan El Shaarawy – 6.5

It’s a shame he was fractionally offside when he volleyed home Dybala’s chip over Spurs’ backline. Otherwise, it would’ve been one of the most spectacular goals in European football this week.

Substitutes

Matias Soule – 6.5