Roma Kick Napoli out of the Title Race
Napoli’s defeat to Fiorentina last weekend damaged themselves in the title race. On Monday night Roma may have killed all possibility of winning the league title. Inter Milan is in the driver’s seat at the moment, a very winnable stretch to end this campaign. Next weekend, they have to play Roma, another game that could be hugely important to the title race. However, suppose Inter Milan wins their game in hand. In that case, they are theoretically Five Points clear of Napoli, meaning even if they lose against Roma next weekend, they will still be in a Prime position to retain the league title. Napoli needed to be nearly perfect, even to give themselves a puncher’s chance of winning the title. It was now or never, and Stephan El Shaarawy’s late goal in Naples on Monday more or less closed the door on a possible title for Napoli. Napoli had everything to lose and everything to gain. Roma is fighting for a top-5 position. If they lost this game, they would still be in a favorable spot to qualify for the Europa League. Meanwhile, any Hiccup from Napoli was going to end their title hopes. While there is still a slight possibility that they could still go and win it, it has become doubtful even after this result. AC Milan has a wreckage of a schedule Inter Milan dictates how this all will finish. Had Napoli gone and played a great performance and won the game on Monday night, they would be right there waiting for a mistake from Inter Milan to allow them to go and do it; with this point, it makes everything more complicated; it is not in their control anymore this was a Monumental opportunity that Napoli just saw slip through their fingertips. Napoli’s performance wasn’t encouraging. They’re rather lucky that they got the point at all. The penalty in the first half that was awarded to Napoli wasn’t a penalty; you could argue it was a foul on Chucky Lozano. They initiate the contact, which virtually means that anything that happens after that point can’t be called on the defense. We saw a similar situation in the Women’s World Cup when Alex Morgan thrusted her body on top of a German Defender and went into the theatrics, ultimately winning a penalty instead of Alex Morgan receiving a yellow card. Lozano’s actions didn’t come from the intention of falling over, but he did initiate the contact, with means it’s not a penalty. Napoli didn’t provide much of anything, or they had some chances on goal, but none of them remotely challenged Rui Patricio. Roma controlled this game and was knocking on the door repeatedly. Napoli was never going to score in this game in any other way other than the penalty spot; they did not play well; they seem to be still reeling from their loss last week, and Roma completely outplays Napoli in Naples in a derby you cannot perform like this and be rewarded for it. They end up getting the point, but they might as well have gotten nothing because the points they dropped in Naples have kicked them out of the title race. Napoli now needs to win the rest of their games this season, and they have a few difficult ones and are going to need help from Inter Milan’s opponents. Napoli this season showed their true character and were in this title race until the very end; they didn’t collapse on themselves like a Napoli team usually does; they were with it until the very end, but when all the pressure was in the middle of the table they told it they could not handle a Roman team that was unbeaten in their last 11 coming into it they were at home in front of their fans in a rivalry game. They didn’t show up, the consequences of showing up, and the ripple effect of not getting maximum points with more questions to be asked for next season. There’s still a slight chance they can do it, but they probably got booted out of the title race.
Mourinho Mentality
The Mourinho mentality has been perhaps the most significant difference between this Roma team from others in years past. Roma has scored multiple goals in the 10 minutes of games. There used to be a sense of concern when conceding a goal about whether or not Roma could turn it around given the time in which the goal was scored. Conceding at first felt like game over because of the feeling of needing two goals to win the game. Roma has done it significantly better against the top six teams in the league, and all panels of their team have improved as the season has gone on. While I may not have been the biggest fan of Mourinho a different points this season, he has won me over with some of his tactical displays in important stretches of the season. The way Roma dismantled Lazio in the derby, beating Atalanta twice. Drawing of both games against Napoli, not to mention the late winners and equalizers we have seen from this team this season. Mourinho has been very influential on the team’s mentality mentally, Roma is just in a different place, and I’m more optimistic going into games than they had been in years prior. It certainly helps when you have players like Tammy Abraham, Lorenzo Pellegrini, and Hendrik Mkhitaryan, not to mention the improvements we have seen from the Roma defense; he’s made the right Acquisitions for his particular team. The signing of rui Patricio has been one of the best in Italy; he has been the best goalkeeper in the league from day one. But mostly, the Roma players’ mentality and the standards they have set for themselves, they have a big future ahead. Still, in this current campaign chasing down the Europa League looking for a top-five finish, something that seemed nearly impossible not long ago, they have stayed Focused and have fought through so many different stretches of this season to get a late equalizer at the very end of the game they played dominating football they are not shying away from anything, and they have the mental strength to prosper the influence of Mou couldn’t be clearer.
Roma will be a threat to the top Soon….
Roma is unbeaten in their last 12 games. They have not suffered defeat since the incredible collapse against Juventus in January. Since the beginning of January, they have played at such a high level. Roma is hardly conceding any goals. They conceded a goal in the Napoli game on Monday because the referee played a little favoritism towards Napoli. They were in control of Napoli throughout the 90 minutes. At no point in time did it look like Napoli was going to score on Roma, and Rome was pushing until the very end, and even after the equalizer in stoppage time, they almost got another one. This Roma has a certain level of ambition and strength and their mentality. The Champions League race next season could be exciting. Roma is likely to achieve a top-5 finished this campaign which seemed almost impossible earlier this season. They will have another Stern test this weekend against Inter Milan, another challenge they will certainly be ready for. Roma is starting to make an impression on the neutral viewer of Italian football and rival teams. Roma is coming, and they could be in the title race next season. Considering how well they are playing with a team that still needs significant upgrades, this shows you the influence of Mourinho and what this team can go on to do. This Roma team is coming, and anyone can do nothing about it. All they need is a few signings, and it changes the game; just look at the way they are performing with the team they currently have Mou did not bring in too many players this summer, and look how well they are thriving; there will certainly be changes to this team next season once Roma starts upgrading their squad they will become a real threat to the top of the league. Inter Milan became a serious threat quickly; it didn’t take very long for Roma to have all the right things in place to be challenging for trophies again. This team is on the rise; pretty soon, they will be a threat to the rest of the league.
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