Kostas Tsimikas made a vital impact on his first start for loan club Roma, with the left-back assisting the winner as they kicked off the Europa League‘s league phase.
Tsimikas has found himself on the bench in his first month since leaving Liverpool, with Angelino firmly established as Roma’s first choice.
But with head coach Gian Piero Gasperini making four changes for the Europa League opener away to Nice, the Greek was brought into the side.
He was one of the standouts as Roma earned a 2-1 victory, assisting what proved to be the winner from centre-back Gianluca Mancini.
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With Neil El Aynaoui releasing Tsimikas on the counter down the left, the 29-year-old produced an outstanding cross which was volleyed in by Mancini to make it 2-0.
Mancini was the focus for the Roma players in celebration but El Aynaoui made a point to recognise Tsimikas’ crucial role in the goal.
Per FotMob, the left-back created the joint-most chances on the night (three) while being the fifth-most involved in terms of touches (80).
It was a positive start for Tsimikas who will look to supplant Angelino as first choice in the months to come, though with his long-term future at Roma not guaranteed as no obligation to buy was agreed, it will be a difficult battle.
Tsimikas’ battle to become first choice
However, speaking after the game, Gasperini outlined his plan to “alternate them” as he believes he now has two “equally reliable” options.
“We have a lot of games to play and in that role, we’ve got both Tsimikas and Angelino, who are equally reliable,” he explained.
“Angelino has done well in recent matches and tonight it was Tsimikas, even though he’s also coming back after several months out. He had a good game.
“Their strongest asset is their left foot as they both have a good strike on them.
“They’re similar players in terms of attributes and not being especially versatile. They don’t play at centre-back, they don’t play further forward – so they’re very specific to that role.
“I tend to alternate them, but with so many matches both of them give us security and reliability.”
Tsimikas was not the only Liverpool loanee involved in midweek, with Luca Stephenson playing the full 90 minutes at right wing-back as Dundee United beat Aberdeen 2-0.
James Balagizi came off the bench late on as Forest Green Rovers earned a 2-1 victory away to Altrincham, while on Monday night left-back James Norris featured in Shelbourne’s 2-1 defeat to Drogheda United.
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