After losing Lorenzo Pellegrini, Paulo Dybala from the beginning to injury, and Tammy Abraham leaving the field after the first 15 minutes of the match, Roma were considered lame in attack. Those who love the home team Olimpico can’t help but worry about the home team in the confrontation with Verona, the opponent who is trying their best for the relegation battle. But Solbakken rose to prominence, scoring his first Serie A goal from Leonardo Spinazzola’s artistic back-heel assist. For Roma, this is a very important goal, it helps Roma maintain 3rd place in the table thanks to slightly better goal difference. As for the Norwegian player himself, this is a special goal.
“This is not a perfect match. Because Verona is a very difficult opponent to play. But I’m very happy to get my first goal for Roma and it gives me more confidence in adapting to the environment, the style of play here. I’m also trying to learn from Andrea Belotti’s pace. I’m really happy and proud of the team. We fight for each other, we play for each other. I think we are really satisfied with this match,” Solbakken said after the match.
The reason why Solbakken mentioned Belotti was because after Abraham was injured, he came on as a substitute for the English player and fought hard in every way to get to the ball or recover the ball. Although not on the scoreboard, Belotti’s efforts are impressive. Even Belotti’s finish could be a goal if goalkeeper Lorenzo Montipo did not save Verona’s excellent save. Jose Mourinho’s Roma is in very impressive form. They have won all of the last 4 rounds at home in the top tournament of the boot-shaped land without conceding any goals.
This is the best record since November 2014 when Rudi Garcia’s Roma won six matches without conceding a goal at the Olimpico. With this momentum, Roma can completely level and surpass the milestone of nearly 9 years ago. It seems that Solbakken (joined Roma in January 2023 from Bodo/Glimt) could be Roma’s next “big surprise”. Last season Mourinho discovered Felix Gyan, now Solbakken. The emergence of new players is extremely important because Roma are in a personnel crisis, while they are preparing to enter a death match against Salzburg in the UEFA Europa League.
Solbakken goes down in Roman history
Scoring the only goal in a 1–0 win over Verona, Solbakken became the third Norwegian player to score for Roma in the Italian league, after John Arne Riise and John Carew. Even if counting since Riise in March 2010, Solbakken is also the first Norwegian player to score for the home team Olimpico in Serie A. Hopefully this goal will be a push for Solbakken to shine more at this stage. next paragraph.
