Roma victory over Torino further indicates their title ambitions
11 goalscorers in 11 matches. Roma have got the goods to challenge for the scudetto.
What was surprising, however, were the names on the scoresheet. The first goal came through a cross from Francesco Totti, but was put in by Vasileios Torosidis. The second was a result of a well-worked buildup, but it was ultimately a shot by Seydou Keita that landed beyond Jean-François Gillet. The third was not so surprising, coming from Adem Ljajic, although the beauty of his shot certainly made a few jaws drop.
Yes, Roma are doing their best to prove that old maxim, “There’s No ‘I’ in Team!”
Perhaps the manufacturers of inspirational posters would do well to simply reproduce a photo of Rudi Garcia's squad. After all, with just eleven games played, eleven players have scored for the giallorossi. Matti Destro tops the side's goalscoring charts with four, Ljajic now has three, while Totti and Alessandro Florenzi each have two. Gervinho, Juan Iturbe, Daniele De Rossi, Radja Nainggolan and Miralem Pjanic have also scored for Roma.
To compare, Juventus, who sit top of the table, have had just nine goalscorers -- although they've generously allowed Carlos Tevez to score eight times. Napoli, sitting just behind, have just seven players who have scored in the league, while struggling Inter, down in 9th, have had only five players hit the back of the net.
What does it all mean? Well, it’s obviously going to matter little if Roma don’t rack up the points. Juve have fewer goalscorers, but more wins, while Napoli have more goals but fewer scorers and fewer wins. Spreading out the goals may not, in fact, mean anything when it comes to being the best in the league.
Yet instinct says that having eleven goalscorers in eleven league games may indeed demonstrate the strength of a team. And considering Roma’s schedule -- and the fact that they haven’t even begun Coppa Italia play -- it could very well make the difference come the end of the season.
The giallorossi have had a rough couple of weeks. After losing 7-1 to Bayern Munich, they had to travel to Sampdoria, who were unbeaten and third in the league. Garcia was willing to rotate, and while his team couldn't break down the tough hosts, they still came away with a point. More fresh legs then came in against Cesena, and Roma won easily.
Teamwork isn’t always enough. Roma picked up their first loss to Juventus, and lost last week to Napoli -- their only real competitors at the top. And, of course, there’s that 9-1 aggregate loss to Bayern. But Garcia looks to be in this for the long haul. He knows how to get the best of all his players, rotating them through and giving them chances to shine. And despite falling apart to Bayern, Roma are still on course to progress to the next round of the Champions League.
The season’s not even a third over. This Roma squad still have plenty of time to gel, to continue to improve. And should Juventus hit a rocky patch, there will be plenty of players wearing red-and-yellow, really to step up and help Roma make that final push to the top.
Oh, and Kevin Strootman’s now back to health. So really, this win over Torino was less about those three points, more about making a statement that Roma are still ready to challenge for the scudetto.
