AS Roma appear to be falling into another mid-season slump with injuries piling up and their own fans turning against them.
Although they scraped into the last 16 of the Champions League, Roma were jeered off the field by 29,000 fans in a depressingly empty Stadio Olimpico after a dismal 0-0 draw at home to BATE Borisov.
Rudi Garcia's team, Serie A runners-up for the last two seasons, have failed to win any of their last five games in all competitions, a run that included a 6-1 mauling by Barcelona in the Champions League.
They have dropped to fourth in Serie A, five points behind leaders Inter Milan, and on Sunday (1700 GMT) have a tough trip to third-placed Napoli, who themselves are eager to bounce back after a shock 3-2 defeat at Bologna last Sunday ended an 18-match unbeaten run and cost them top spot.
Inter (33 points) visit Udinese on Saturday (1945) while second-placed Fiorentina (32) host champions Juventus, who have climbed to fifth (27) after a stuttering start, on (Sunday 1945).
The hardcore Ultras are boycotting Roma's matches after public authorities ordered their Curva Sud haunt to be divided for security reasons.
The fans have been going to youth matches and turning up at the team hotel before games to show support but refuse to go to the Stadio Olimpico. The fans that have been going to home games have been notoriously fickle.
"I'd had been happy if we had been jeered off by 70,000 people. But we have to think positively and say that we have reached our target," said forward Alessandro Florenzi. "The supporters pay for their tickets and have the right to say what they want; everyone wanted to see a fizzing Roma, who score six goals against everyone but at the moment it's not like that."
Ivory Coast forward Gervinho, stalwart playmaker Francesco Totti and defender Vasilis Torosidis are among those on the treatment table, while Egypt forward Mohamed Salah has also been out injured.
Dutch midfield Kevin Strootman is also out, having been plagued by injuries since joining the club at the start of the 2014/15 season.
"There's a different atmosphere at the stadium without the Curva Sud," said coach Rudi Garcia.
"But ultimately we're through and, at this moment in time, with the mood as it is, getting through the (Champions League) group sends out a strong message.
"Come February, I hope to recover some of the guys we're currently missing, especially up top and go into the games in different circumstances."
"This isn't the same side that began the season, in that we have fewer options up front," he added.
"The same guys are playing every game at the moment. We're going through a tough spell in the league, we dropped two points against Bologna and two at Torino that we could have taken.
"It'd be a whole different story had we got those. Now we have three more matches left this year. We have to recover quickly ahead of Napoli."
Comments
0 comment