Fading Inter, Roma go head-to-head as Serie A battles restart
>> MILAN: Barely one month ago, Inter Milan against AS Roma would have been considered a clash of two Serie A title contenders, but when they meet at San Siro tomorrow, neither side will be thinking about the Scudetto.
Both teams have faded badly in the last month, leaving leaders Napoli (51 points) and second-placed Juventus (50) in a two-horse race for the title and lowering their own ambitions to a place in next season’s Champions League.
The leading pair have opened an eight-point gap over Luciano Spalletti’s third-placed Inter while Roma have dropped to fifth, a further three points behind.
Inter went through their first 16 league games unbeaten and led the table on Dec 9 but have managed only three draws and two defeats in their last five Serie A games, scoring a paltry two goals in the process.
Roma have managed one win in their last five league games and scored three goals.
The match, the highlight of the round which re-starts Serie A following the winter break, will be the second time that Spalletti has faced Roma since leading the team from the capital to second place with a club record points haul last term.
Inter, enduring their sixth successive season without Champions League football, won the first meeting 3-1 at the Stadio Olimpico at the start of the season.
The shaven-headed Spalletti suggested after Inter’s last match, a 1-1 draw at Fiorentina, that some of his players were not pulling their weight.
“We must make the effort to give something more on an individual basis, especially considering the quality that we have,” he said. “I would like the lads involved to help contribute to the collective value.”