Sinners & Saints: Roma 5, Crotone 0

After an inadvertent break following Roma's aggregate defeat to Manchester United in the Europa League semifinals last week, Sinners & Saints, our day after player rating series, is back with a vengeance—and what a return it is! Following weeks of struggles, Roma bounced back in a big way yesterday, blowing Crotone off the pitch in a five-nil rout. The Giallorossi may have started the afternoon off with their tires spinning in the mud but they broke loose in a big way with five unanswered goals in the second half, four of which came after the 70th minute.

So, as you may have guessed, we're going all halos in this edition of Sinners & Saints.

The Saints

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Lorenzo Pellegrini

The local boy turned in arguably his finest performance of the 2020-2021 season, turning in a perfect 10 match rating from both WhoScored and SofaScore. In 90 minutes yesterday, Pellegrin scored two goals, put four of six shots on target, provided six key passes, pulled off three dribbles, completed five of 11 crosses and four of four long passes. He even chipped in seven duels won and three tackles for good measure.

Pellegrini was, in a word, dynamic yesterday. Transfer rumors continue to swirl around the 24-year-old Roman, so the sooner the club can put the kibosh on those by signing him to a new deal, the better.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Number seventy-seven wasn't far behind Pellegrini yesterday, earning nearly as many plaudits as Pellegrini. Mkhitaryan took approximately 30 fewer touches than Pellegrini but still managed one goal, two assists, five shots (three on target), four key passes and would have had two goals of his own if he didn't strike the woodwork. As it was, Mkhitaryan's second-half goal pushed his league total to 10, matching his 10 Serie A assists, giving Roma their first double-double performer since Mohamed Salah in 2016-2017.

Borja Mayoral

Another brace for Mayoral pushed his league total to 10 and 17 overall for the season. In addition to his two strikes, Borja added one key pass while completing two of two long passes. Mayoral's brace would have been a hat-trick had he not struck the woodwork with a first-half header.

Rick Karsdorp

It was a quiet statistical evening for Karsdorp yesterday but in 90 minutes the Dutchman completed nearly 93% of his passes, provided one assist, completed one successful dribble, and won two of five duels.

Stuck In Between

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These players weren't quite as impressive as their saintly peers but still turned in solid shifts in Roma's five-nil throttling of Crotone

Bryan Cristante: Back in midfield again, Cristante completed three dribbles, drew two fouls, and completed four of five long passes.

Ebrima Darboe: Were it not for a second-half leg injury/knock, Darboe definitely would have earned a halo yesterday, but even without that designation the 19-year-old Gambian midfielder was a bright spot for Roma yesterday. Taking 70 touches, Darboe completed 97% of his passes, had three interceptions, and went 3-3 on long pass attempts.

Roger Ibañez: Young Rog's up and down season continued yesterday, but in 45 minutes Ibañez managed one tackle, two interceptions and won four of five duels. He also flashed some impressive athleticism to snuff out Adam Ounas’ first-half shot after getting beat off the dribble, to begin with.

Daniel Fuzato: He wasn't tested much at all, but there is just something about this kid I believe in, and despite facing only seven shots, Fuzato showcased incredible athleticism and aggression for a keeper. Please, José, give this kid a chance!

With a midweek match against the recently crowned Scudetto champions Inter Milan, we can probably expect both clubs to dig deep into their benches, so perhaps we'll see repeat performances from Darboe, Zalewski, and maybe even Edoardo Bove again.