The defeat against Inter increases the doubts. Among the new arrivals, the Belgian has an impact, but all the others are below expectations
There is reality, the perception of reality and the way of communicating both. On this last front – if the interlocutors are their fans – Roma are in for the championship, given that on Sunday evening – after the defeat against Inter – talking about the referee and the location of the match was brilliant. This time however, except for the strictly observant faithful, it had a limited result, but only because the numbers of the match against Inter appeared merciless. Suffice it to say that it was not since 2004-05 that the Giallorossi did not finish towards goal for the first time until the 20th minute of the second half.
Lukaku, and then?
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Is it really all the fault of absences? Of course, Smalling, Spinazzola, Sanches, Pellegrini and Dybala weigh in, but let’s examine three Inter home matches that ended with a win (Monza), a defeat (Sassuolo) and a draw (Bologna). In the first case the opponents shot on target 12 times, in the second 13, in the third 8. Is there a Roma fan who would swap the San Siro squad for any of these? Not on paper, but then there is reality and the way to shape it. Of the summer transfer market, the only one unavailable in Milan was Sanches, while Kristensen, Ndicka, Paredes, Aouar, Azmoun and Lukaku had the chance to play. In fact, with different playing time, they all did it. The problem is that, with the exception of Big Rom – a coup as exceptional as it is the result of extraordinary coincidences – the rest of the arrivals have so far not provided the quality or continuity required. It’s true that, with the exception of Paredes, everyone arrived on a free transfer or on loan, but the goal of the Champions League zone is not close for now. The question then, net of the obvious progress required in play and preparation – because injuries cannot be attributed only to bad luck – does the squad live up to expectations? Kristensen is no better than Karsdorp for now, Ndicka has good potential but is still in the apprenticeship phase, Aouar – according to the coach himself – still hasn’t understood Italian football Azmoun is now at the back of the forward rotations, who in any case has three center forward (too many?), while Paredes, world champion, seems to continue the downward trend of recent seasons at PSG and Juve, taking into account that he forces Cristante to play in a less desirable position. And Sanches? Potentially he is strong, but if you consider that he has suffered over twenty injuries in his career, staying out for almost two seasons in total, his stops cannot be surprising. And then in Trigoria they say: is it possible that among the five full backs there isn’t even a left-footed player? It would have been a gap to fill.
Baruffle with the League
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But the internal tension is also communicated outside. Mou’s attack on the league for the lack of postponement provoked De Siervo’s piqued reply (“his statements sound like an alibi”), highlighting when Barcelona-Real Madrid was played. Roma said they were surprised, explaining how GM Pinto had raised the problem before the match and, at the end of the match, Cristante spoke about tiredness. True, but he also mentioned how the roster is a little short. And then, perhaps, the market could have been different.