Results from the latest round of matches from the Serie A consolidated Juve’s position at the top of the standings, confirming that the champions are hot favourites to retain their title for a fourth successive year.
Roma continue to falter and on Sunday they could not go beyond a 1-1 away draw at Fiorentina.
Juventus beat Chievo 2-0 and with 18 games left, Roma are now trailing the Bianconeri by seven points.
Up to matchday 14, Roma did well to keep up with the pace at the top of the standings.
In the close season, Roma were active on the transfer market signing quality players and seemed well equipped to give Juve a good run for their money. All pundits were predicting that the 2014/15 title race would go right till the end.
But in the last couple of months, Roma started to falter badly, dropping points at home and on the road. In their last seven outings, Rudi Garcia’s men only managed two wins whereas Juve chalked up four successes and drew the other three.
A team aspiring for glory cannot afford to drop points against modest opponents like Sassuolo.
Drawn results against better-rated sides like Lazio and Fiorentina are acceptable, albeit a side harbouring aspirations to end Juve’s dominance have no option other than to be more consistent in their results.
Roma’s slump came at a time when Juventus were not going through a bright patch either.
In their last seven outings, the Bianconeri were held by Fiorentina (0-0) at the Artemio Franchi and by Sampdoria (1-1) and Inter (1-1) at their own Juventus Stadium – Juve’s only two draws in Turin so far.
Statistics do not give Roma much comfort and with Paul Pogba and Carlos Tevez firing on all cylinders Juventus are not likely to give away points that easily until the end of the season.
The question that follows is… have the 10 points dropped by Roma in their last seven games brought the curtains down on this season’s title race?
In my opinion, it depends on various factors.
For sure, if Juve avoid a dip in form and maintain the same kind of play they’ve been showing lately, Roma’s mission to win their first scudetto since 2001 becomes next to impossible. However, if Massimilliano Allegri allows his players to lower their guard, Roma could grab the opportunity.
The direct clash between the two sides at the Olimpico on March 2 is a too big an opportunity for Roma not to take. They have to beat Juventus to bridge the gap at the top, thus applying more pressure on the leaders.
This match-up is sandwiched between Juve’s Champions League last-16 double-header against Borussia Dortmund, whereas Roma may have already knocked out Dutch side Feyenoord and made it to the last 16 in the Europa League.
Winnable games
Before the make-or-break clash against Juventus, Roma have four winnable games coming up – vs Empoli (home), Cagliari (away), Parma (home) and Verona (away). Juventus travel to Udinese this weekend, before hosting Milan, travel to strugglers Cesena and entertain Atalanta.
Roma should arrive at the title showdown with no more than the current seven-point deficit. Then, anything can happen and if Roma beat Juventus they’ll get back into business.
Failure to do so would reaffirm Juve’s unassailable leadership, putting them within sights of their first scudetto with Allegri as coach.
Many things can still happen from now till the end of the season. But it’s clear that Juventus can decide on their own destiny.
Roma are left with few options other than to step up a few extra gears and hope they will get a helping hand from the other teams to stop Juve’s march.
But contrary to what happened this winter, Garcia’s Giallorossi have to pounce on any eventual Juve slip-up. If not, then it is a matter of time before Juve will be crowned Italian champions for the 31st time.