Alessandro Florenzi was only outshone by brace hero Edin Dzeko, as Football Italia rates the Roma performers against Verona.
Words: Gaby McKay
Alisson: 5
Cliché dictates that the goalkeeper could have sat in a sun lounger reading the newspaper, such was the bluntness of the Verona attack. It was rather too damp an evening in Roma for a perusal of La Gazzetta dello Sport, but the Brazilian will seldom have an evening as comfortable as this one.
Alessandro Florenzi was only outshone by brace hero Edin Dzeko, as Football Italia rates the Roma performers against Verona.
Words: Gaby McKay
Alisson: 5
Cliché dictates that the goalkeeper could have sat in a sun lounger reading the newspaper, such was the bluntness of the Verona attack. It was rather too damp an evening in Roma for a perusal of La Gazzetta dello Sport, but the Brazilian will seldom have an evening as comfortable as this one.
Alessandro Florenzi: 7.5
Florenzi made his return to the starting XI after two serious knee injuries, and looked as though he’d never been away.
Surging forward from right-back, the Italian international played a full 90 minutes and looked entirely comfortable throughout.
Set up the second goal by flying down the flank, leaving a defender for dead and delivering a perfect cross for Edin Dzeko on his left foot.
He’ll be like a new signing for Coach Eusebio Di Francesco this season.
Kostas Manolas: 6
The Greek defender had very little in the way of actual defending to do, and instead focused on building play from the back. Had Moise Kean and then Giampaolo Pazzini in his back pocket all night, and was neat and tidy in possession.
Federico Fazio: 5.5
Fazio’s lack of pace may have presented a problem against a more accomplished side, as he looked slightly shaky on the rare occasion on which Verona did launch an attack.
That said, the Argentinian centre-back did very little wrong and largely strolled through the game.
Aleksandar Kolarov: 7
Slightly outshone by Florenzi on the other flank, the left-back was nonetheless a dangerous attacking outlet for the Giallorossi.
His trademark set-piece delivery wasn’t at its brilliant best, but the Serbian set up former Manchester City teammate Edin Dzeko with a perfect pass to make it 3-0.
Lorenzo Pellegrini: 6
Set the tone early on with his drive from midfield, setting up Stephan El Shaarawy before seeing his own effort tipped over the bar.
Had very little to do as the game wore on and the result was secured, but this was an encouraging display for a Di Francesco disciple.
Daniele De Rossi: 5.5
The veteran captain will rarely have had more comfortable evenings than this one, De Rossi strolled through the game with the air of a man who could have done this in his sleep.
Used the ball intelligently and blocked passing lanes well, but this was little more than a training session for the World Cup winner. Still managed to get booked, mind you.
Radja Nainggolan: 7
Scored the opening goal with a fine finish, and even on a comfortable night for the Lupi, Nainggolan never stopped running for the entire 90 minutes.
The Belgian has been excluded by national team boss Roberto Martinez, but even on a night like this one, he proved his quality.
One of the best box-to-box midfielders in the world, it’ll be a travesty if he misses out on the World Cup.
Cengiz Under: 6.5
The Turkish youngster was lively and showed plenty of the potential which convinced Roma to sign him.
Sporting director Monchi is known for his shrewd transfer moves, and Under looks like yet another bargain, even if he could have had at least one goal on the night.
Under cracked a first half shot off the post following a stunning Nainggolan pass, before blazing a good chance over the bar in the second.
Edin Dzeko: 8.5
So much more than just a goalscorer, Dzeko led the line with grace and intelligence.
While his first goal was a simple header, the outside of the boot finish for the second was a deceptively difficult strike from a world-class forward.
Demonstrated his all-round ability with a defence-splitting pass for Under, but the youngster fired his shot over the bar.
Stephan El Shaarawy: 6
El Shaarawy showed the best and worst of his game across the 90 minutes, a familiar story since he first broke through at Milan.
Worked back superbly to negate any impact Romulo may have had, but his wasteful finishing stopped this being even more of a rout.
Substitutes
Gerson: 4
Replaced Radja Nainggolan for the final 15 minutes of a dead game. Got into a row with teammate Bruno Peres after the final whistle.
Patrik Schick: 5.5
Given his debut late on, and he stung the gloves of Nicolas Andrade with a decent shot.
Hector Moreno: N/A
Given 10 minutes and had almost literally nothing to do.