“I am not convinced,” was the review of Evan Ferguson’s performance from Gian Piero Gasperini after Roma suffered yet another defeat in the important head-to-head clashes at the top of Serie A.
“It’s not just him” he added, as he cast the net of disappointment over fellow summer loan signings Leon Bailey and Kostas Tsimikas. All three arrived from the Premier League and have intermittently featured, Gasperini repeatedly hinting they weren’t doing enough in training to convince him they were worth a shot.
When Bailey did come on in the 2-1 loss to Juventus on Saturday, he lasted 20 minutes before limping off with his umpteenth muscular injury. We are constantly told the Premier League sides train so much harder and with such commitment, yet these three have failed to impress Roma staff.
“If I had to choose between Paulo Dybala and Ferguson, I’d choose Dybala all day, every day,” reiterated Gasperini. “You need more to be a centre forward than being tall. It’s not just about technique, he hasn’t settled into the spirit of this team.”
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Roma might save money by cutting short the Ferguson loan from Brighton, Bailey’s from Aston Villa, and Tsimikas’s from Liverpool, to then bring in the correct ingredients for Gasperini’s tactical recipe. It’s a little surprising they are looking to the Premier League again for their replacements, above all Joshua Zirkzee from Manchester United, though at least he already has experience of Serie A from Bologna and Parma.
When everyone in the league looks so eminently beatable, it makes for an unpredictable campaign. It’s not so much may the best team win, more like who crawls over the finish line first. The table was shaken up again this weekend, also because for the first time this season it had gaps in the schedule.
Napoli, Inter Milan, AC Milan and Bologna were all in Riyadh for the Supercoppa Italiana Final Four. Napoli will face Bologna for the trophy on Monday, so their week 16 fixtures won’t be played until mid-January. This hands Juve time to close the gap, aided by a relatively weak run of opponents to finish off 2025 and begin 2026, certainly compared to rival teams over the same period.
So are Juventus in the race?
“When you say things like that, it makes me want to bite you,” Luciano Spalletti told a Sky Sport Italia reporter asking about title ambitions. But the assertion is not entirely implausible. Juventus have barely scraped a few good performances, but the overwhelming sense of inconsistency throughout Serie A means that’s no reason to rule them out for the top prize.
Spalletti can tuck into his Christmas dinner knowing Juventus beat Roma 2-1 to close within a point of fourth place, securing three competitive wins in a row, with Loïs Openda finally breaking his Serie A duck, and Gleison Bremer returning for his first start since his meniscus tear on September 27th. The quality in the squad was always present, so with a little confidence, momentum and players beginning to gel with their new coach, there’s plenty for fans to get their teeth into.
Juventus remain painfully dependent on Kenan Yildiz, but there are worse players to rely on. He was once again sprinkling Turkish delight around the pitch against Roma, although he is, if anything, too generous in his work off the ball. “His opponents know how good he is, but I don’t think he yet realises how good he is,” said Spalletti.
If it’s not too late for Juventus to get into the Scudetto race, there might also be time for Fiorentina to save themselves from Serie B. They finally got their first win of the season, gifted an early red card by Udinese goalkeeper Maduka Okoye’s half-cooked sprint outside the area to meet Moise Kean, taking full advantage for a 5-1 victory.
It was somehow not the dumbest goalkeeping error of the weekend in Serie A. That goes to Genoa’s Nicola Leali for getting himself sent off within three minutes for clattering Daniel Maldini, and yet his team-mates held out until the 94th minute before capitulating 1-0 to Atalanta, via Isak Hien’s late goal.
Considering so many of Fiorentina’s problems are obviously down to mentality, a success like this just before Christmas could be the turning point they need. The Viola are busy taking action anyway, approaching Tottenham Hotspur director Fabio Paratici to become the figurehead the club has been sorely lacking since the untimely death of Joe Barone in March 2024.
Their fans had hoped for a club icon in Fiorentina bona fides such as Giancarlo Antognoni. Calling someone who spent decades at their bitter rivals Juventus, overseeing a financial scandal around artificially inflated transfer fees, will probably be harder to swallow than over-cooked turkey. – Guardian
