Roma’s main team secured their recovery in Serie A by winning by the fewest margins a fighting side from Salernitana (1-0) on Sunday during the first day of the tournament. The post in the first half and a little inaccuracy in the second half prevented former Juventus leader Paulo Dybala from scoring his first goal in the Giallorosso shirt. But teammate Brian Cristante did not miss the goal (33) to set Roma on the path to success against a brave Salernitana side, determined not to wait, like last season, until the last day to save themselves.
With Franck Ribery entering at the start of the second half, Grenaz managed to shake the Wolf to the finish, benefiting from less gnawing Romans and more wait-and-see in the second half. But Jose Mourinho’s side, once again ambitious with an attractive recruiting campaign, did not give up on that opening success. The Portuguese coach bolstered his midfield at the end of the game by launching his strong summer side, Nemanja Matic (warned just four minutes into his entry) and ‘Genny’ Wijnaldum. The latter even thought he scored his first goal of the season, and it was eventually disallowed for offside.