CLUB FALLS SHORT

Roma manager Rudi Garcia has admitted that the club have failed in their ambition of winning the title this campaign, as he feels that the lead opened by Juventus is far too big for the club to catch in the remainder of the season. Roma failed to stay in touch with the leaders after a 1-0 defeat to Napoli.

This coupled with a win for Juventus in their match against Fiorentina meant that Antonio Conte’s men have opened a 14 point advantage in the table with only a handful of matches remaining. Garcia says that his team are now powerless to stop Juventus from winning their third successive title.

During the first half of the season, Roma emerged as the surprise title challengers for Juventus. They managed to go unbeaten for a large part of the campaign. However, they have failed to keep up with the champions, to have a much better and bigger squad. Despite this, this season will be a proud achievement for Garcia, as he is likely to see Roma return to Champions League next season. The club have not qualified for this Premier competition since 2011. The finances from the Champions League next season will certainly help build a much better squad.

Roma have been beaten only twice this season and they have a three-point advantage over Napoli in the third place.
"We're not mathematically out of the race, but to all intents and purposes we are. There's a significant gap. If we continue to take the field like that we're going to win a lot of games," he added. "The defeat wasn't the problem. We lacked effectiveness in front of goal and also a bit of luck. We definitely need to get back that killer instinct," said Garcia.

He also revealed that the club will undergo scans over midfielder Kevin Strootman’s injury.