Serie A or Champions League? Roma resembles different squads

It’s anyone’s guess which Roma will show up against Real Madrid today.

Will it be the squad that seems to rise to the occasion in the Champions League? Or will it be the team that struggles to put together consistent results in Serie A?

Lately, Roma has resembled two different squads in the two competitions.

Building on last season’s semifinal appearance, Roma has won three straight matches in the Champions League after opening the campaign with a 3-0 loss at Madrid. Over the three wins, Roma outscored the opposition 10-1 and the Giallorossi sit level on points with Madrid at the top of Group G.

In Serie A, however, Roma has lost three times to opponents near the bottom of the standings. A 1-0 loss at relegation-threatened Udinese on Saturday followed defeats to Bologna and Spal.

In all, Roma has gained only seven points against the bottom six teams in the standings. The lost opportunities have left the Giallorossi in seventh place, nearly 20 points behind leader Juventus.

It’s the worst start since 201112, which was Roma’s first season under American ownership.

“I’m asking myself why this happens and I’m angry because I don’t have an explanation,” Roma coach Eusebio Di Francesco said.

One reason could be that after selling off the backbone of the squad – goalkeeper Alisson to Liverpool, midfielder Radja Nainggolan to Inter Milan, and beloved defensive midfielder Kevin Strootman to Marseille – Roma no longer has the resources to compete at a high level in both competitions.

With five goals in four matches, Edin Dzeko is the cotop scorer in the Champions League but the Bosnia-Herzegovina striker has a miserable rate of two in 12 games in the Italian league.

Making matters more complicated is that Patrik Schick, Dzeko’s reserve at centre forward, has scored only one goal in all competitions.

This is shaping up as a crucial week for Roma, with a home match against Inter Milan following the Madrid game.

Any further stumbles could cause Di Francesco his job, with former Fiorentina coach Paulo Sousa – who recently attended a Roma match – having acknowledged that he’s interested in taking over if necessary.