Player ratings: Roma 2-3 Torino – Adams stars, Soule disappointment

It wasn’t to be for 16-year-old Antonio Arena after scoring with his first touch in senior football as Roma fell to a 3-2 defeat at home against a Che Adams-inspired Torino in the Coppa Italia round of 16 on Tuesday night. Check out the player ratings from a crazy cup clash at the Stadio Olimpico. 

Adams sent Torino into the interval with a 1-0 lead, before half-time substitute Mario Hermoso equalised just 30 seconds after coming on. Adams put the visitors back in front six minutes later, before a goal off the bench from teenage debutant Arena. Emirhan Ilkhan poked home from a corner in the final minute of regular time. 

You can see how the action unfolded on the Football Italia Liveblog.

Roma: Svilar 4.5; Celik 6, Ghilardi 5, Ziolkowski 5 (Ndicka 6); Rensch 5.5 (Hermoso 6.5), Cristante 6, Pisilli 6.5 (Kone 6), Wesley 6.5; Soule 5 (Dybala 5), El Shaarawy 5.5; Bailey 6 (Arena 6.5). 

Best Roma player: Arena 6.5 – It was so close to being the dream debut for the 16-year-old Italy youth international. He scored with a brilliant header with what was his first touch in senior football, and was an inch away from making it 3-2 in favour of Roma late on. On a personal level, it couldn’t have gone much better for Arena, despite the collective disappointment. 

Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini 5 – Question marks over Gasp’s team selection. He made several changes ahead of kick-off, but was then forced into a double substitution at half-time with his side 1-0 down. Dybala and Kone were then called for when Roma were 2-1 down, but didn’t have the impact that Gasperini would have wanted. Torino, meanwhile, named arguably their strongest available XI and reaped the rewards. 

Torino: Paleari 6; Tameze 6, Ismajli 6.5 (Maripan 5), Coco 6.5; Lazaro 6, Ilkhan 6, Gineitis 6.5 (Casadei 6), Vlasic 6.5, Aboukhlal 6.5 (Dembele n/a), Simeone 6 (Njie 6), Adams 7.5 (Ngonge n/a).

Best Torino player: Che Adams 7.5 – A very well-taken brace from the Scotland international, who had not scored in any competition since the end of November before this evening. His shot took the slightest of nicks off Ziolkowski for 1-0, a shot which was troubling Svilar anyway, and was then in the right place at the right time as a centre-forward should be to poke home the goal that put Torino 2-1 up.

Coach: Marco Baroni 7 – There is no doubting that Torino were up for the cup at the Stadio Olimpico. It was a strong Granata side, and they looked motivated from the off. They had just as many opportunities to score as Roma in the first half, and their lead did not come against the run of play in what was an end-to-end affair. Torino showed great mentality after both of Roma’s goals as well, going back in front six minutes after the first equaliser, and nine minutes after the second.