UEFA Europa League | PLAYER RATINGS: Ludogorets Razgrad 2-1 Roma | OneFootball

Roma made a terrible start to their Europa League campaign as a vigilant Ludogorets Razgrad side pocketed a 2-1 victory over Jose Mourinho’s men.

Roma endured a few nervy moments in the opening phase of the game, with Kiril Despodov shooting the ball wide from a one-v-one situation. Roma’s best chance in the first half came in the shape of a Gianluca Mancini header that hit the back spot and denied the Giallorossi a much-coveted opener.

The lack of imagination in the creative department from both sides ended in the teams heading into the tunnel with a 0-0 scoreline at the end of the first half.

Roma started the second half with much optimism, creating some decent chances from open play. But Ludogorets drew the first blood, with Chris Smalling, who had a good game until now, getting caught in two minds and deciding against pressing Cauly Oliveira, who notched up the opener for the hosts.

Although Eldor Shomurodov’s strike brought Roma back into the game, Nonato restored the lead for Ludogorets with a fiery finish. The game ended in a 2-1 win for the Bulgarian club. Here are the player ratings as Mourinho’s side dropped points in their opening game of the Europa League 2022/23 campaign.

Ludogorets (4-3-3): Padt (6); Cicinho (6), Verdon (6.5), Witry (6.5), Nedyalkov (6.5); Piotrowski (7), Show (6.5), Cauly (7.5), Despodov (6), Tekpetey (5.5), Thiago (5.5).