Roma went into Saturday’s clash against Inter lying second from bottom in the Serie A table.
Claudio Ranieri’s team were facing a mammoth task against the league leaders as Roma only had two home draws (vs Cesena 0-0 and Bologna 2-2) to show from their first four outings.
But Roma rose to the occasion to topple the champions.
Saturday’s upset was Inter’s first Serie A defeat since their loss to Roma last spring when Jose Mourinho was still in charge of the Nerazzurri.
Roma and Inter experienced mixed fortunes after their final 2009/10 league meeting in the last weekend of March.
Inter lost 2-1 on that occasion but still went on to complete an unprecedented treble, having the better of Roma in both the Coppa Italia final and the race for the scudetto before putting the icing on their season by winning the Champions League final against Bayern Munich.
Ranieri has done a great job at Roma since taking over from Luciano Spalletti who resigned after only two matches last season.
The ex-Chelsea and Juventus mentor took Roma as far as he could without any signings of note with the exception of Luca Toni. The veteran striker joined the club on loan from Bayern Munich in January as the cash-strapped Roma reached the Italian cup final and finished a very creditable second in the final league classification.
Inevitably, Inter and Roma again crossed swords in this season’s curtain-raiser, the Italian Super Cup.
At the San Siro, Inter came from a goal down to win 3-1.
That defeat was the prelude of yet another stuttering start for the Giallorossi. A 5-1 mauling at the hands of Cagliari on the second day turned up the heat on Ranieri.
Two away defeats (vs Bayern Munich and Brescia) left Roma winless in their first six official outings of the season.
Ranieri’s men reserved their best performance for Saturday’s clash with Inter. At the Olimpico, Roma battled bravely, giving clear signs that they are still a team to be reckoned with.
The campaign is still in its early stages but Roma have closed in on the leading pack. Last season, they also hit top form after another poor start, their impressive unbeaten run (24 matches) coming to a halt in the home fixture against Sampdoria.
That outcome practically handed the league title to Inter.
Roma have a tough task to improve on last season’s second-place finish but they have to start winning matches and believe more in their abilities to soar high in the standings.
Roma’s involvement in the transfer market was minimal in the summer. Besides making Nicolas Burdisso’s move from Inter permanent after lengthy negotiations, the club’s other notable signings were Marco Borriello from Milan and Brazilian duo Adriano and Fabio Simplicio, both free agents.
Ranieri’s resources are indeed limited and he knows that the morale-boosting win over Inter only represents a small step.
Last weekend, Roma won the battle but only time will tell if they are equipped enough to win the war.
To challenge for the honours, Ranieri needs the backing of the club, including captain Francesco Totti who was angry about his substitution against Inter and reportedly left the stadium while his team-mates were still celebrating victory thanks to Mirko Vucinic’s flying header in the dying stages.
After the defeat to Brescia, the Italian media reported that Ranieri was on borrowed time at Roma. However, this coach deserves better treatment, not least for what he managed to achieve at Roma over the past 12 months.
Serie A statistics
0 teams with a perfect record in Serie A after five games and all 20 sides have collected at least one point even though bottom side Udinese are still winless. Milan, Catania, Bari, Cesena, Cagliari, Sampdoria, Bologna, Fiorentina, Parma, Roma, Lecce and Udinese are still without a win on the road. Juventus possess the most prolific attack with 12 goals.
1st point of the season for Udinese who held on to a draw away at Sampdoria. For the Blucerchiati this was their second successive stalemate. Mimmo Di Carlo’s Samp have only taken three points from their last four outings. On Sunday, Lecce threw away a 2-0 lead to share the spoils with Palermo. This was the first time Lecce had left Sicily undefeated.
2nd successive away win for Napoli as the southerners came from a goal down to thrash Cesena 4-1. Napoli, together with Chievo and Sampdoria, are still undefeated away from home. For Cesena, this was their second consecutive defeat, following their midweek setback to Catania.
3 wins and a draw saw Lazio go top of the standings, level on points with Inter. Lazio’s latest victims were Chievo who conceded their second straight home defeat. Two second-half goals helped Fiorentina beat Parma to chalk up their first win of the season. Parma, winless in their last four outings (two draws and two defeats), have already had five penalties against (all scored) so far this season.
4 penalties ordered by referees last weekend. Marek Hamsik’s 81st-minute spot-kick saw Napoli take the lead against Cesena. Paulo Barreto scored Bari’s winner against Brescia from the spot and Adem Ljajic broke the deadlock by scoring a penalty for Fiorentina. Elsewhere, Marco Di Vaio saw his 40th-minute penalty blocked by Catania keeper Mariano Andujar. From the rebound, however, Di Vaio found the back of the net.
25 goals were scored on the fifth day. Foreign players contributed with 16 goals while there were seven first-half nettings. Total number of goals scored so far is 127. Juventus midfielder Milos Krasic grabbed his first hat-trick for the Bianconeri. Edinson Cavani (Napoli) and Alessandro Matri (Cagliari) notched a brace each. Apart from Cavani, Mirko Vucinic (Roma) and Massimo Maccarone (Palermo) were the other players who came on as substitutes and scored. Cavani and Inter’s Samuel Eto’o are the top scorers with five goals each.