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Roma look in ruins as fans revolt against the club following another sign of poor leadership as Luis Enrique and his men lose to Fiorentina with eight men.
General manager Franco Baldini was ruthless in his bold assessment after the 3-0 defeat in Tuscany which saw Juan, Fernando Gago and Bojan Krkic sent off.
The latest incident of poor discipline on the field arrives in a week when Pablo Osvaldo was fined for his punch-up with Erik Lamela.
“Nobody is happy on a day like this, but we believe this project is worth fighting for” those were the blunt words of Roma’s general manager Franco Baldini after the game as he tried to cool concerns as fans turn against the club.
There was plenty of promise at the start of the season from coach Luis Enrique. Barcelona style football was his theme, but Roma have not been transformed. Rather, they are facing upheaval.
Back to back losses against Udinese and Fiorentina and having players suspended for next week’s game against league leaders Juventus is just the start of problems.
Pain on the pitch in Florence was raw. Stevan Jovetic converted the penalty he won following Juan’s tug on his shirt. Alessandro Gamberini then helped Delio Rossi’s side go 2-0 up before the break.
Roma crumbled in the second half. Gago and Bojan Krkic were sent off before Santiago Silva converted from the spot for Fiorentina with four minutes to go.
There is excess baggage at Roma and there is already talk of change behind the scenes. Baldini said his club would be fighting, but their real battle begins against Juventus.
Antonio Conte’s men continue to fuel their account for control at the top of Serie A following Sunday’s 2-0 win over Cesena in Turin. Claudio Marchisio and an Arturo Vidal penalty saw the league leaders dominate proceedings at the summit.
Juventus needed to win following AC Milan’s 2-0 victory of Genoa on Friday night. Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored his eighth of the season for the Italian champions, while Antonio Nocerino sealed the victory via a Kevin-Prince Boateng assist.
Milan’s city rivals Inter continue to stumble though. Their 1-0 loss at home to Udinese is, perhaps, final proof they will not win the Scudetto this season.
Mauricio Isla struck on 73 minutes to keep Udinese on tow to Milan and Juve. The game was full of incident too as two penalties were missed. Antonio Di Natale passed the ball to Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar from 12 yards as Javier Zanetti saw a rare red card late in the game.
Down the other end, Giampaolo Pazzini slipped and saw his spot-kick go over, while Damiano Ferronetti was sent off for the visitors for a second yellow.
Next week, Inter will have to seek shelter against confident Fiorentina as their season continues to be violated and they are just four points above the drop zone.
OTHER SCORES
Napoli 4-2 Lecce, Catania 0-1 Cagliari, Bologna 1-0 Siena, Chievo 0-0 Atalanta, Parma 0-0 Palermo.
Lazio vs Novara, Monday night fixture.