Coach 'stunned' as players miss 3 consecutive penalties

Coach Gian Piero Gasperini could not hide his astonishment as AS Roma’s players missed three penalties in a row during the same incident, leading to a 0-1 defeat against Lille.

AS Roma suffered a 0-1 defeat to Lille in the Europa League group stage early on October 3rd, in a match where the Giallorossi missed a crucial chance to equalize. The unbelievable scenario unfolded in the 82nd minute when Roma was awarded a penalty but missed three times in the very same sequence.

On the first penalty attempt by Dovbyk, goalkeeper Berke Ozer made an easy save. The referee ordered a retake due to a Lille foul, but Dovbyk repeated the same shot direction and Ozer saved again. However, since Ozer had stepped off the line, Roma was awarded another penalty. Coach Gasperini then gave Matias Soule the chance, but even his altered shot was brilliantly stopped by Ozer. With no more errors, Roma lost a golden opportunity to draw level.

After the match, Coach Gian Piero Gasperini expressed his disbelief: “I have never witnessed anything like this. Three penalties in one situation and not scoring is truly extraordinary and directly impacted the game’s outcome. This is almost unprecedented in my career.”

The Italian coach admitted Roma started poorly after conceding early in the 6th minute to Haraldsson of Lille. Still, he praised his players’ efforts: “Although we were behind and made some technical mistakes, the whole team maintained high spirit and tempo until the final whistle. We created chances but lacked the sharpness to capitalize.”

Gasperini emphasized that this loss does not mean Roma has lost confidence: “Of course, we need to learn from this and reduce errors. But I see many positive signs in spirit, unity, and determination. This is a group stage, not knockout. Roma has many games ahead and we will have chances to make amends soon.”

With a pragmatic approach, Gasperini hopes his players remain resilient: “Football is a game of mistakes. Nobody wants to miss, but when it happens, what matters is our reaction. Roma will not collapse because we have the whole season to prove ourselves.”

The defeat to Lille was only Roma’s second loss of the season. Under Gasperini’s leadership, the capital club has had a bright start in Serie A with four wins in five matches. The experienced coach stressed that the most important thing now is “to keep fighting spirit and not let one loss shake the chosen path.”