Roma and Juve in Six Goal Thriller

Sunday night at the Stadio Olimpico had everything a football fan could ask for. Roma and Juventus — two of Italy's most celebrated clubs — put on a spectacular show, sharing the points in a breathless 3-3 draw.

Roma got off to a strong start and were rewarded just before half-time. In the 39th minute, the home side broke the deadlock and went into the interval with a 1-0 lead. The Giallorossi were feeling confident.

However, Juventus fought back immediately after the restart. Just two minutes into the second half (47'), the visitors pulled themselves back level. It was a warning sign that Roma chose to ignore.

Roma quickly turned up the pressure again. In the 54th minute, they pulled ahead once more to make it 2-1. And when a third goal arrived in the 65th minute, it looked as though the match was over. Roma were cruising. Surely Juventus couldn't claw back a two-goal deficit?

Claudio Ranieri's Juventus had other ideas. Ranieri made a string of bold substitutions — five in total — and his team began to chip away at Roma's advantage. A goal in the 78th minute made it 3-2, and suddenly the atmosphere inside the Olimpico became very nervous.

Then, deep in stoppage time, in the 90th minute, Juventus pulled off the most dramatic of equalisers. The visitors had come from two goals down to snatch a point. For Roma, it was a bitter pill to swallow.

Key Statistics

Statistic	Roma	Juventus
Possession	49%	51%
Shots on target	5	5
Shots total	11	12
Corner kicks	4	1
Fouls	6	11
Yellow cards	1	0

The statistics show how evenly matched the two sides were. Both teams had exactly five shots on target, though Roma were more effective with their corners. Juventus committed more fouls — 11 compared to Roma's 6 — showing how hard they worked to keep up with the home side.

Glossary

Word / Phrase	Meaning
thriller	a game that is very exciting, with a lot of action
the Giallorossi	nickname for Roma (means 'the yellow and reds' in Italian)
the visitors	the away team (Juventus in this match)
the interval	half-time; the break in the middle of the game
the deadlock	when neither team is winning; the score is 0-0
a deficit	the number of goals a team is losing by
equaliser	a goal that makes the scores equal
stoppage time	extra minutes at the end of a half, added because of delays
substitutions	when one player is replaced by another player
a string of	several things happening one after another

Phrasal Verb Focus

Phrasal Verb	Meaning
put on (a show)	to perform something for others to watch
get off to (a start)	to begin in a particular way
fight back	to try hard to win after losing
pull back (level)	to score and make the scores equal
chip away at	to slowly reduce something
pull off	to succeed in doing something difficult
snatch	to get something quickly, often at the last moment
claw back	to regain something with great difficulty

Vocabulary Questions

1. Choose the correct word to complete the sentence:

Roma went into the interval with a 1-0 lead. They had broken the ______.

   a) equaliser

   b) deadlock

   c) deficit

2. True or False? 'The visitors' refers to Roma.

3. Which phrasal verb fits the sentence?

Juventus were losing 3-1 but they didn't give up. They ______ to make it 3-3.

   a) got off to

   b) pulled off

   c) fought back

4. What does 'claw back' suggest about the way Juventus scored their goals?

Think about the image of an animal using its claws. Does it suggest the goals were easy or difficult to get?

5. Complete the sentence with a phrase from the glossary:

Juventus equalised in the 90th minute — in ______.

Bonus Discussion Question: The report says 'it was a bitter pill to swallow' for Roma. What do you think this expression means? Have you ever had a 'bitter pill to swallow' in your own life?

Answers Below

Answer Key

(For the teacher / self-study check)

1. b) deadlock — Roma broke the deadlock when they scored the first goal.

2. False. 'The visitors' means the away team. Roma were at home (the Olimpico is their stadium). Juventus were the visitors.

3. c) fought back — Juventus were losing but they didn't give up; they fought back to make it 3-3.

4. 'Claw back' suggests the goals were very difficult to get. The image of an animal clawing — fighting hard, scratching for every inch — tells us that Juventus had to work extremely hard to recover.

5. Juventus equalised in the 90th minute — in stoppage time.

Bonus: 'A bitter pill to swallow' means something unpleasant that you have to accept, even though you don't want to. For Roma, drawing 3-3 after leading 3-1 was very hard to accept — it felt like losing, even though it was technically a draw.