Radja pulls Roma through, scores last-gasp winner against Napoli

Why the hell did Roma play on a Monday in the afternoon you wonder? Well, apparently because of this. Liberation Day, a national holiday since 1945 to celebrate the end of the Nazi occupation in the country. The crew of Brad Pitt probably had something to do with it (cue Inglorious Basterds joke). But let's not talk about history now...

Guess who also 'liberated' thousands of people today? Radja Il Ninja Nainggolan. A dynamic midfielder with tons of stamina, passion, grinta, he can't stop running, has a huge work rate and he also scores the odd goal here and there. People have drawn a lot of comparisons between Radja and the ever admirable Simone Perrotta, but the Belgian is slowly becoming an even bigger favorite after his goal this afternoon.

A huge 3 points are in the bag. It keeps Inter at a safe distance and the race for second place is wide open. Roma may have the hardest final act of the season compared to Napoli, but at least they can still remain hopeful after today. Hope for an automatic CL qualification and no difficult qualifying round against a defensive Ukrainian or Slovenian team. It's probably Ninja's most important goal since he stepped foot into Roma.

It wasn't a coincidence they scored after Totti got subbed in and he once again had a major influence in a relatively short time. The goal was a nice team combination, the relief could be felt all around Rome. And even further, in American households as well. Finally they listened to me. "Win God damnit". Nothing more more, nothing less. And so they did. It was tense but the ending bittersweet. And would you look at that, we kept a clean sheet against a formidable attack such as Napoli's. Mainly thanks to Woj and his save at the half hour mark.

The only real downside is Roma's handed Juve's fifth consecutive title. But we all saw it coming from a mile away. After a massive 73/75 they deserve the Scudetto, nobody can deny it. They were the most consistent side and were a lot more sharp, cunning and shrewd than Napoli or Roma. At least Juve didn't had the chance to win it on the field. Instead, the players probably had to celebrate in front of the tv on the couch with a bag of Doritos, never a fun thing for a professional footballer.

We'll leave it at that for now. I'm sure a more elaborate review is on its way from Bren. For now, let's enjoy this victory! Next up is a trip to Genoa, a team which has nothing left to play for this season. No European ticket or relegation issues.... But will they simply let Roma take a stroll in the Stadio Luigi Ferraris? I bet they won't. We'll see next week. And guess what, it's another Monday fixture!

In 1979 the Boomtown Rats sang "I don't like Mondays'. Well, thanks to Radja I do now.