Comi backs Roma and Como to challenge Inter this season

Former Roma sporting director Walter Sabatini has said Roma deserve to be among the title contenders and will fight for the Scudetto until the final match. Speaking to Tuttomercatoweb, Sabatini praised Gian Piero Gasperini's side, which remains in the race just behind Lazio and Inter, after their comeback against Cagliari. Sabatini said: "E lo è meritatamente, sta giocando un calcio entusiasmante, è una squadra molto determinata, solida, monolite. Difficile giocarci contro e difficile soprattutto batterla. Merita quello che ha e credo che il cammino sarà coerente con quello che sta facendo adesso e combatterà certamente fino all'ultima partita per lo scudetto." He described the team as exciting to watch, determined, solid and difficult to play against, and hard to beat. Asked how much Roma's chances depend on the fitness of Paulo Dybala, Sabatini said the availability of injured players in general would be decisive, not only Dybala. He singled out the absence of Manu Koné as the most serious loss for Roma at the moment, describing him as a midfielder who alone determines the composure and completeness of a unit. Sabatini also noted that injuries are affecting many teams, with a worrying wave of muscular problems, though he stressed that this applies to all clubs. Sabatini's comments highlight the balance Roma must find in the league run-in: a side praised for its quality and cohesion, but one that will need its key players back to keep pace at the top of Serie A.

Roma have turned a long-standing weakness into a strength: when they fall behind, they now fight back rather than fold. Writing after the Cagliari match, the commentary argues the side is hungry and no longer accepts defeat, with a fierce pressing approach now a clear instruction. Roma were below their best in the latest game, which the piece puts down to a natural dip after six matches in sixteen days. The real point, it argues, is how the team responded when it went behind. The same pattern was seen against Atalanta and confirmed against Napoli and Cagliari. As soon as they concede, Roma change their approach, refusing to accept the deficit, running, creating and above all scoring. Last season the points tally was the same, but the team was open to criticism for its almost helpless reaction to going behind. Under Gian Piero Gasperini, the side no longer fears falling behind; instead it becomes more determined, pressing, creating and turning games around within minutes. Last season the only Roma win from a losing position came at the Franchi against Fiorentina, where Soulé and Cristante overturned Kean's opening goal. Otherwise there was little: in Serie A only two draws, against Atalanta and Milan, and in the Europa League two more, against Panathinaikos and Bologna. That was too little for a side aiming at the top, and the problem was more mental than physical. Gasperini has taken that weakness and turned it into a strength. This time Nzola's goal could have hurt Roma, but it did not. Within ten minutes Lulli and Pisilli had erased it and restored the smile that Gasperini shows when he sees his side play. So far this season Roma have earned seven points from losing positions, against Atalanta, Cagliari and Napoli, matching their entire total from last season. They have played only 12 matches in that situation, and the piece concludes that the best is yet to come.

Roma climbed the Serie A table after beating Cagliari on Monday night, although the win came with a few more scares than the club would have liked. Former striker Hernan Crespo, a Serie A great who played for Parma, Lazio and Inter, has offered his view on the first months of the new season in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, and he had plenty of praise for Gian Piero Gasperini's side. Crespo said Roma's position near the top was largely expected: "Nel campionato italiano i patemi sono all'ordine del giorno, bisogna saperli affrontare." In English: "Scares are part of everyday life in Italian football, and you have to know how to handle them." He added that Roma had finished well the previous season and that, with a coach of Gasperini's calibre, they were destined to improve further. "La Roma in alto in classifica era comunque una cosa abbastanza preventivabile in estate." In English: "Roma being high in the table was fairly predictable over the summer." Crespo was particularly struck by the team's physical condition. He said: "Mi sorprende la freschezza atletica della Roma: corrono tutti e corrono molto bene. E poi, quando hanno il pallone tra i piedi, sanno che cosa fare. Idee chiare e tanta, tantissima energia." In English: "Roma's athletic freshness surprises me: everyone runs, and they run very well. And then, when they have the ball at their feet, they know what to do. Clear ideas and a lot, a huge amount of energy." Crespo also turned his attention to city rivals Lazio, whom he called the most pleasant surprise of the campaign. He said: "La Lazio è certamente la sorpresa più bella di questo campionato, mentre la Roma ha cominciato a costruire le basi di ciò che si vede oggi già dall'anno passato." In English: "Lazio are certainly the most pleasant surprise of this championship, while Roma began building the foundations of what we see today already last year." He concluded: "Non mi sbilancio, ma ripeto quanto detto prima: questa Lazio può volare." In English: "I won't go too far, but I repeat what I said before: this Lazio can fly."