After their earth-shattering comeback from three goals
behind to beat Barcelona in the Champions League, many expected AS Roma to
continue their run of form and carry that momentum through the Derby della
Capitale against Lazio.
However, it was clear that the Giallorossi were unable to
maintain the level of intensity and effort that brought them the victory
against Barça as they laboured to a 0-0 draw against their city rivals.
For Roma fans, this would have been especially galling,
because it’s one thing to show that sort of lack of urgency in any other match.
It’s quite another to do so in a derby against one’s
rival team.
Furthermore, the dropped points see Lazio remain third,
four points ahead of Roma. With the Serie A season ending soon, time is running
out for Roma to gain ground on Lazio and qualify for next
season’s Champions League.
This is also clear evidence as to why Roma have no chance
to win the Champions League this season.
Of course, you could also point to the relative lack of
star power in their squad, but let’s face it: if a team follows up an
incredible victory like that against Barça with a lackadaisical, uninspiring
performance in a derby, that speaks volumes about their ability to maintain
focus in pursuit of the biggest prize in club football.
It should be noted that Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and
Liverpool – the three other teams that have advanced to the last four of the
Champions League – all followed up their respective Champions League victories
by winning their own league matches.
It may be true that physical and mental fatigue played a
role in Roma’s diminished performance. This may be seen in Roma defender Kostas
Manolas, who scored the winning goal that knocked Barcelona out of the
Champions League, being substituted off near the end of the match due to
injury, which may have been brought on by his efforts against the Catalan club.
But even so, derbies ought to be different. Derbies are
often decided by which team just wants it more during the game, and Roma simply
did not want it badly enough.
As was mentioned earlier, it is very possible that Roma
could pair their season of overachievement in the Champions League with a league
campaign that sees them missing out on next year’s edition.
This also brings me to my other point: Roma’s relative
lack of star power, which is also a problem of their own doing.
In what will go down as a colossal blunder by the Roma
front office, the Italian club sold Mohamed Salah to Liverpool in the off-season.
Although not many eyebrows were raised by this transfer at the time, it could
come back to haunt them in dramatic fashion, as Roma were drawn to play against
Liverpool in the Champions League semifinals.
While Roma do have some solid players, such as Alisson,
Radja Nainggolan, Kevin Strootman, Juan Jesus, Edin Džeko, and Stephan El
Shaarawy, none of them are on the elite, game-changing level of the likes of
Salah, Cristiano Ronaldo, or Robert Lewandowski.
Roma will go into their semifinal against Liverpool as
the clear underdogs, and for good reason – not only did they sell an emerging
superstar to the team they are about to face, but they have also shown that
they lack the sort of consistency that will lead them to a European title.
In fact, I will come right out and say it: Roma have no
chance of victory over two legs in the semifinal.
This would also have been true if they had been drawn
against Real or Bayern.
Among the four teams remaining in the competition, Roma
have the least star power and are the least consistent. They also have
relatively little big-match experience, unlike the battle-tested veterans in
Madrid and Munich.
It is a shame that this season, in which Roma have
surpassed many expectations, could end with them having absolutely nothing to
show for their efforts – not even a place in next season’s Champions League.
Unfortunately, though, in spite of all they’ve done so
far this season, Roma just do not seem to have what it takes to win it all.
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