With only five matches remaining on the league calendar, there is light at the end of the tunnel for Daniele De Rossi and AS Roma. However, instead of a well-defined shaft of light, De Rossi and the Giallorossi can only make out faint signs of life at the other end. With a three-point cushion between them and sixth-place Lazio, Roma's European hopes are as strong as they've been in years. Still, with a seven-match run that features fixtures against Napoli, Juventus, Atalanta, and the two-legged Europa League semis against Bayer Leverkusen, Roma has a bit of work to do before they can bask in the warm glow of the Champions League.

Considering all that, De Rossi had to strike a delicate balance in his starting lineup today, giving Sardar Azmoun and Rasmus Kristensen rare starts while Evan Ndicka returned to the pitch after his health scare against Udinese two weeks ago. And while it wasn't exactly how they drew it up, Ndicka featured prominently in the first half, being drawn into multiple challenges thanks to the combined attacking prowess of Victor Oshimen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

Thanks to Napoli's high-pressing approach, Roma wasn't able to stitch together more than two or three passes before a swarm of blue shirts descended on Mile Svilar, Leonardo Spinazzola, or whatever unfortunate soul was tasked with breaking Napoli's pressure. It's not that Roma was overwhelmed-they maintained their composure well enough-they simply couldn't establish any attacking rhythm. And without Romelu Lukaku's presence in the middle of the pitch, there was virtually no holdup play to speak of, resulting in a series of hasty rushes up the flank.

When given the opportunity, Spinazzola did well to drive the ball deep into Napoli territory, but his outswingers and cutbacks drifted aimlessly through the middle of the Napoli box, giving the Partenopei ample counter-attacking opportunities. Thanks to Napoli's aggressive approach, Roma was on the back heel the entire first half, mustering only three attempts on goal.

Fortunately for Roma, Napoli wasn't exactly firing on all cylinders at the other end. With Ndicka and Bove doing yeoman's work at the back, Oshimen and Kvaratskhelia came up empty-handed in the first half, while Svilar successfully intervened multiple times, flying off his line and controlling the penalty area like a seasoned veteran.

Still, something had to change if Roma had any chance of walking away with three points at the Maradonna this afternoon. And change it did. Rather than continuing to twiddle their thumbs, Roma simply tore a page out of Napoi's playbook, starting the new half by pressing the Partenopei high up the pitch, harassing their hosts in the build-up phase, and forcing turnovers deep in the Napoli end.

Despite that renewed approach, Roma couldn't completely foil the home side. They still managed to tilt the pitch through Victor Osimhen's auspices, who continued to draw Svilar off his line early in the second half.

Thanks to their more aggressive stance, Roma cajoled Napoli's defense off their moorings, attacking Meret's box with waves overlapping and intermingling runs, drawing a penalty in the process. In the 59th minute, with Sardar Azmoun making a darting run into the box, the Iranian international was clipped by Juan Jesus from behind, drawing a penalty in the process, which Dybala converted with ease.

Roma's joy was short-lived, however. Five minutes later, Napoli caught a break of their own, forcing Gianluca Mancini into a turnover at the edge of the box (or committing a foul, depending on your interpretation), which Mathias Olivera was more than happy to chip over Svilar's head to level the match at one apiece.

De Rossi responded with a double change in the 69th minute, bringing Renato Sanches and Tammy Abraham into the mix in place of Bove and Azmoun, respectively. DDR previously swapped out Stephan El Shaarawy for Angelino, giving Roma more speed and a viable target man up top for the home stretch.

Napoli continued to flex their attacking muscle through Osimhen, who stormed past Mancini in the 73rd minute. This set up a veritable one-v-one against Svilar, who came off his line in a shot to deny Osimhen, cutting down the angle and making a stretched save to deny the prolific Nigerian forward.

Roma's luck continued to trend downward past the 80th minute when Sanches gifted Napoli a penalty after he fell to the pitch and hit Kvaratskhelia with his trailing leg. While there was no call in the run of play, a quick VAR check awarded the PK, which Osimhen converted without batting an eye.

Tammy Abraham gave the Giallorossi a glimmer of hope late in the match, scoring an 89th-minute equalizer off the corner, redirecting Ndicka's header towards the far post. Abraham's goal was initially disallowed for offside but survived a lengthy VAR check, officially leveling the match at two goals apiece with five minutes of stoppage time remaining.

TAMMY IS BACK

He scores his first goal since returning from an ACL injury and it's a late equalizer against Napoli pic.twitter.com/iKRDS4o0aH

- CBS Sports Golazo (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 28, 2024 In the end, despite a few nervy Osimhen-induced moments, Roma held firm, scraping out a draw from a match they had no business winning. Today's victory keeps Roma in fifth place with 59 points, though Lazio (four points) and Atalanta (two points plus a game in hand) are hot on their tails.

Final Thoughts Top marks to Roma for never relenting and clawing their way back into this match, but they once again ran up against the limits of a shallow and fatigued roster. Without Leandro Paredes pulling the strings in midfield and Lukaku's physicality missing up top, Roma's attack was more haphazard than carefully orchestrated, resulting in a hasty, off-balanced approach in the final third.

With only 10 attempts on goal, only 40% of which came in the run of play, the Giallorossi were fresh out of ideas this afternoon, but thanks to their never-say-die approach, De Rossi's crew managed to salvage a crucial point this afternoon.

Needless to say, Roma's Champions League fate will be decided over the next two weeks, culminating in a six-pointer against Atalanta on May 12th.

Up Next Roma welcomes Bayer Leverkusen to the Olimpico on Thursday for the first leg of the Europa League semifinals.

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