The defense has begun to leak, the weight of the injuries is being felt, Gatti’s goal was a blow that still leaves waste… but above all the pace is the same as last year, when the team had changed two coaches before turning a corner. And the Champions League becomes difficult to reach
Houston, we don’t just have one problem. The problems have become 15. Because, after the heavy Easter defeat against Inter, there are now many defeats of the season. And 11 came in the championship, something that hadn’t happened at this point in the tournament since the days of Luis Enrique at the dawn of the American era. The Friedkins are wondering about a hypothesis that stands out concretely on the horizon: Roma could waste another year despite substantial investments, between the summer transfer window and that of January, and the hiring of a highly regarded coach like Gian Piero Gasperini. Spending 116.5 million excluding bonuses to find yourself back where you started shouldn’t be rewarding.
decadence
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With 7 days to go the Champions League, which has been missing in Trigoria for 8 seasons, becomes difficult to reach. But what is worrying is the trend of a team that has gradually faded away, between Serie A and the cups, after the unwelcome turning point on March 1st. Federico Gatti’s 3-3 goal in the direct clash against Juve was a psychological blow, because it brought Gasperini back from a theoretical +7 to the fight for fourth place to be experienced. In general, however, the trend of recent weeks shows a surprising involution: Roma exited the Europa League in the round of 16 and have lost three of their last four championship matches. In the first half of the season they had conceded a total of 12 goals, while in the 12 days of the second leg they had already conceded 16.
injuries
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A few weeks ago Gasperini applauded the purchase of Malen, underlining that the absence of a center forward had cost him points before the January transfer window. But the results of the first part of the season, despite the difficulties of Dovbyk and Ferguson, were no worse. And Malen’s impact, excellent in terms of goals and more, wasn’t enough. The injury alibi exists – today pillars like Dybala, Koné, Wesley are missing, while Angelino has never been there and Soulé has just returned after seven games – and requires some in-depth analysis: Gianluca Mancini also stopped at San Siro. One trouble leads to another, why? Now the calendar offers two home games to start again: the first is comfortable against Pisa who are almost relegated, the second could instead turn into a direct clash against Atalanta. Roma must get back on track quickly to at least defend the mission accomplished by Claudio Ranieri last year with 45 points in the second round, i.e. staying in Europe. By the way: Gasperini only gained one more point (54 against 53) without the handicap start that the team experienced last season with two coaching changes. Only four times in the three-point era have Roma lost more games in the league: the record is 15 in 2004-05, when they came close to relegation. There is something wrong and that cannot be explained only by the quality of the staff: too many players – just look at N’Dicka – do not perform up to their standards. In Houston, where they spent 25 million for Wesley, 27 for Malen, 23 for El Aynaoui, 10.5 Ghilardi, 6 Ziolkowski, 25 for Robinio Vaz, they would like much more than a sixth place, an almost unavoidable constant in their journey as owners of the club.
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