Five away games, five wins. It looks like Gasperini has cured Roma’s old Achilles Heel: poor results on the road. But what’s behind their struggles at home?
Roma’s results are split into two parts: they
have won all their away matches, but all their defeats have occurred at home. The Stadio Olimpico, once an impenetrable fortress, no longer seems to intimidate opponents. Although these defeats against Torino, Inter Milan, Lille, and Plzen were close, they’re losses all the same–Inter was the only match Roma wasn’t expected to win, while the Plzen defeat was particularly painful.
Last season, the Giallorossi lost only four of 19 Serie A fixtures at the Olimpico–this season, they’ve already dropped two fixtures before the calendar flipped to November. Their home record in Europe is even worse, with the club suffering back-to-back defeats at hom, putting their Europa League campaign at risk. Even with Roma tied with Napoli at the top of the table, their home record is a cause for concern and something Gasperini must fix as soon as possible.
Of course, the Olimpico remains crowded for every home match, with 60,000 fans clamoring for a convincing victory–one that has yet to arrive. With Roma eking out wins over teams like Hellas Verona, Parma, and Bologna, a four—or five-nil victory would calm many fears while serving as a reference point for the club’s true capabilities.
Maybe Roma’s struggles at home are a mental issue? Maybe there’s just too much pressure to secure the three points in front of the fans and play an attractive game at the same time? After all, that’s what Gasperini is there for: to turn Roma into nouveau version of Atalanta–an exciting and effective attacking team. However, since the start of the season, Roma’s attack has been toothless, ineffective, and, at times, helpless: Dovbyk has two goals. Ferguson has none. Soulé and Dybala are the only bright spots.
Whatever is behind Roma’s struggles at home seems to disappear the minute they hit the road, where it’s all sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows: 12 points out of 12 in the league and a victory in Nice in the Europa League opener.
But Sunday’s fixture against Milan at the San Siro will be the first test of Roma’s newfound success away from the capital. While a draw will be a perfectly respectable result, a win would prove two things: 1) Roma is now a serious top-four contender and 2) their success outside the Olimpico isn’t just a fluke; Roma is now a real menace on the road—and when was the last time we could genuinely say that?
