Football has a way of creating heroes out of dire situations, and one such moment materialised at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris when Genoa hosted Roma in November 2021 – on a night that belonged to Ghanaian prodigy Felix Afena-Gyan.
Jose Mourinho’s side were going through a difficult period that had seen the Giallorossi win just one of their last seven matches, leaving them in13th position in the Serie A table.
Even worse, Roma had suffered a humiliating 6-1 loss to Bodo/Glimt in the group stage of the Europa Conference League a few weeks earlier. The mood around the club was low and pressure was ramping up on the Portuguese boss in his first season in charge of the Italians.
For an injury-hit squad, Roma’s bench didn’t inspire much confidence either. But still, there was Nicolo Zaniolo, an Italy international, Carles Perez, an-ex Barcelona midfielder, and Borja Mayoral, a striker on
