I will admit, I didn’t get to watch this one from start to finish thanks to work. It was the first half on a match tracker, followed by listening to the ESPN+ stream on my car radio for a large chunk of the second half, before catching the end live. I later watched the first half replay so I could see how we looked and write this one. After watching, there were a couple players who stood out more than others, as Claudio Ranieri cobbled together a make shift side from the resources he had available.

The Candidates

Stephan El Shaarawy

asroma.com

Il Faraone has quietly had a solid season and continued to make his case for a Italy call-up tonight. El Shaarawy scored an absolute stunner in the ninth minute to open the scoring and jump start Roma. He nearly found himself on the scoresheet with an assist later in the first when he laid off a beautiful back flick that Zaniolo shot just wide. El Shaarawy finished the match with a passing accuracy over 83% and even chipped in on the defensive end. Il Faraone was tireless once he inherited the captain’s armband from the expelled Florenzi, as he helped Roma barely see out the victory.

Patrik Schick

asroma.com

Schick drew the praises of Ranieri during Sunday’s pre-match press conference and the Czech made his new manager look sage once game time arrived. Schick scored a lovely header off a set piece crossed in from Florenzi. He also worked hard for the team winning six aerial duels. Roma will hope this is a sign of things to come from Schick.

Ivan Marcano

Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images

Marcano may not have scored a sexy goal like the two others on this list, but the Spaniard put in a solid shift at the back. Marcano had the second most touches on the team, which he used to complete the most passes on the team (77) at an 87% rate, including seven accurate long balls. He continued to fill the stat sheet with three interceptions, five clearances, two aerials won, and a tackle. An all around solid night.