In the Serie A, the yellow-reds have only managed to break the deadlock in the first half on two occasions – against Genoa and Udinese.

A well-started venture is half done; if this adage holds true, then Roma seriously needs to step up their game. The onset of the season has been fraught with complications from various angles, and there’s a troubling statistic that raises concerns. The approach to the matches is (almost) never the correct one. The yellow-reds have a serious problem related to goals. “A mere 8 in the first 7 league games: One must delve back to the 2001/2002 season to find a lower figure. In that instance, it was just 6 in the same number of matches.” Roma struggles to gain ground in the initial stages. They’ve only managed to break the deadlock in the first half on just two occasions, against Genoa and Udinese. Roma didn’t perform poorly in the first half of the game, yet they failed to score.

What’s still lacking is their ability to seize the match by the jugular and swiftly take the lead 1-0. On three occasions, the yellows and reds have taken the lead, whereas in the remaining four games, they either failed to score or fell behind. This happened in Europe against the Athletic Club, while with Elfsborg, they conceded a goal and were unable to recover the match. Juric will have to work hard on this aspect, and it’s no coincidence that Ghisolfi is on the hunt for another forward: the name of beto has emerged. Last year, his Torino ranked second to last in terms of goals scored during the first half hour of play. Only Cagliari has done worse. The coach said that the team needs to become more ‘ruthless’.