Roma edged past Moldovan side Sheriff Tiraspol in the Europa League on Thursday night and Diego Llorente saw out the 90 minutes again – but Italian media have criticised the Leeds United defender.
Llorente, 30, rejoined Roma in the summer after going on loan to the Serie A giants in January for the second half of last term. He played 12 times in that first spell, including the Europa League final.
It is a bit of a weird one, given he signed a new Leeds deal in December. However, he returned to Roma – where he is playing under Jose Mourinho. The man who gave him his professional debut at Real Madrid.
On Thursday night, Llorente started in Moldova – with the Spaniard starting all five of Roma’s games so far. Romelu Lukaku got the winner Cristian Tovar cancelled out a Sheriff own goal. Two wins in a row.
A tricky start to the season for Roma, but a bit of momentum after a 7-0 win over Empoli on Sunday. But Llorente still earned criticism. Forza Roma handed Llorente a rating of 5.5/10, often making mistakes.
“Defensive playmaker, but no shortage of errors in the setup phase, especially in the first minutes. In the coverage one, a squad car would be enough to scare the Sheriff’s attack,” Forza Roma reported on him.
“But despite this, dangers arrive. Pardoned by the referee on a clear yellow, not by Cristian Tovar who finds the defensive department asleep. In the end he almost makes a mess,” FR added after the game.
Italian media criticise Leeds defender Llorente on Thursday
Llorente will survive any major criticism because Roma won the match but had the Italians lost – Llorente would have come under the microscope. Rasmus Kristensen was left out of the Europa League squad.
But, clearly, he is a key player for the Serie A giants and will continue to be so for the rest of the season. Llorente needs to stay fit. An £18m signing for Leeds, he could easily go and play 40 games for them.
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