Following a very productive year for striker Tammy Abraham, Roma fans had every reason to look forward to the 2022/23 season. The Englishman had a new strike partner in Paulo Dybala and new quality midfielders like Georginio Wijnaldum to create new opportunities. With only 3 goals in 16 games, it’s fair to say things haven’t gone to plan for Roma’s number nine. But what is behind his lack of form?
Striker Tammy Abraham in Goal Drought
Lack of Chemistry in New Look Attack
Roma has struggled to score and create chances all season. In their crucial match against Napoli, the Giallorossi failed to record a single attempt on goal. It is to be expected coming from a Mourinho side, but the team looks completely different to last year. To an extent, it might be because it is a different squad. With new signing Dybala and Andrea Belotti, Roma have not found chemistry in attack so far. The many injuries of La Joya, causing a lack of stability in the starting XI, have contributed to the team not finding their new identity. Tammy Abraham’s role has changed in the process, and the number nine is yet to adapt properly to it. Defensively and in the build-up, he’s just as useful as last season, but his impact in the final third has taken a huge dip.
No Luck
No other player in Serie A has missed more big chances than Tammy Abraham. This is very uncharacteristic from a player who scored 27 just last year. Truth be told, the Englishman has been very unlucky recently, which affected his confidence in front of goal. At times, the striker has seemed cursed, with everything that could go wrong going wrong: unbelievable saves against him, posts, narrow misses. Abraham may have produced the miss of the season in Roma’s latest match against Hellas Verona, an action reminiscent of the famous Edin Dzeko miss a few years ago against Palermo. These things seem to happen at Roma. The great Gabriel Batistuta scored just eight league goals the year following the scudetto campaign of 2001, where he had scored 20. Edin Dzeko followed 29 and 16 goal seasons with only nine in 2018/19.
It’s always hard to keep the same form after a productive season. Defences pay more attention to certain players, coaches prepare for them. Overcoming that is what makes great players great when no adjustments can slow them down. Roma fans will have to hope that Abraham has that gene. The striker needs to up his game following the World Cup break, as the club needs him for their top four and European aspirations.
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— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) November 4, 2022
