Dirty TackleRoma win Serie A record 10th straight to start season, may have forgotten how to lose
Barcelona have not won all their matches this season. Bayern Munich have not won all. Juventus (who went undefeated in 2011/12) have not won all their matches this season. But Roma have. With a 1-0 win against Chievo, Roma extended their winning streak to 10 straight matches to start the season — a feat no other Serie A club has ever accomplished. Roma probably aren't the best, but they are the most perfect.
Winning each and every one of your first 10 games is all fine and good, but to make it all the more impressive is the fact that Roma have conceded just one goal all season. One. For reference, second-place Napoli have conceded seven in as many matches. Roma beat them 2-0 a couple weeks ago.
In their last seven matches, Roma have won by a combined score of 14-0. Not bad for a club that finished sixth last season and took on a new manager — Rudi Garcia — who has never worked outside of France.
Roma have gotten excellent performances out of players young and old. Leading the team with four goals is 22-year-old Alessandro Florenzi, while 37-year-old Francesco Totti leads in assists with six (and three goals of his own). After becoming a laughing stock with Arsenal, Gervinho has also come into the team at a reduced price and added three goals, as well. Other new additions like Adem Ljajic and Kevin Strootman have also made an immediate impact and Maicon has played himself back into a spot on the Brazilian national team after being all but forgotten while serving as Man City's invisible man last season.
The only way things could go more perfectly for Roma right now would be if Francesco Totti started aging backwards and Gervinho's hairline started migrating forwards. Obviously, this level of perfection and almost universally brilliant form won't last forever. There will be injuries and at least one member of the squad will be eaten by Daniele De Rossi's beard. A top three finish and a spot in the Champions League is still the goal, but for now, Roma are just having fun surprising people.
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