Roma Rises to Third as Como Crumbles in a Tight Serie A Showdown

Match Summary

Roma regained balance and earned their first win after two league losses, defeating Como 1-0 on Monday to close the fifteenth round.

The capital club owed it to Brazilian defender Wesley Franka, who delivered the lone goal in the 61st minute.

Roma climbs to third on 30 points, three behind Inter Milan, one behind Napoli in third, and two behind Milan in second.

Roma had fallen in two straight matches before rallying in the Europa League with a 3-0 win away to Celtic.

The team dreams of the Italian title for the first time since 2001, helped by strong early-season results.

Franka's goal was his third in the league, reinforcing the defensive line under coach Gian Piero Gasperini and keeping alive the top-four aspiration despite injuries to Artem Dovbyk, Paulo Dybala, and Evan Ferguson.

With eight goals conceded, Roma boast the league's best defense at this stage in 12 years.

Como, however, could not break the drought away from home, having beaten Roma only once in their last 13 meetings prior to this clash.

The Spanish coach Cesc Fabregas's side are enjoying their best-ever start, with 24 points from 14 games, and this is only their second loss since August, after the Inter Milan setback.

Punchline: If football were a salad, Roma just tossed the defense and sprinkled a winner on top.

Punchline: The table is so tight that even a single pass could decide the title—Roma’s defense just filed the paperwork.