The Italian teams’ disastrous two days in the Champions League do not yet spell the end for anyone

Four points out of a possible twenty-four. Three out of four teams have now been knocked out of the competition. The Italian sides in the Champions League have got off to a bad start and are faring even worse. Roma, Como, Inter and Napoli have been beaten by Real Madrid, Feyenoord, Club Brugge and Villarreal respectively. A total debacle, though one that paints a varied picture of how these defeats came about.

Roma completely dominated the side led by José Mourinho, who returned to the Olimpico as an opponent and was hailed with banners and chants by his former supporters. The Giallorossi played a match of great intensity and quality, at least for eighty-two minutes. Their high press was their first line of defence, and it was only when fatigue – and substitutions – began to take their toll that the team dropped deeper, conceding chances to Real. One thing is clear: Roma cannot play with a deep-lying defence. Or rather, they must have the strength required to do so. Just a few days ago, they managed to neutralise Como whilst playing a man down for almost the entire second half, following the sending-off of Donyell Malen, who scored a brace yesterday. The Blancos capitalised on this and managed to score three goals from corners in the space of seven minutes (from the 83rd to the 90th minute). The scoreline is a bitter pill to swallow: three to four for José, who is gloating over yet another ‘Mourinhata’. The finish wasn’t there, but yesterday, the one who certainly didn’t come away from the match with a positive impression was certainly not Gasp.

Como – the only Italian side three points clear – were facing their first ever European away fixture, and all things considered, it didn’t go too badly. Many have said and written that more was expected, but this speaks volumes about the work done by Cesc Fàbregas over the last two years. Despite conceding three goals, Como didn’t give much away. Feyenoord recorded 0.54 xG (expected goals) compared to Como’s 1.24. Overall, perhaps, they paid the price for their inexperience on a very difficult pitch, in a stadium that’s always electric, against a Dutch side boasting some exceptionally strong individual talents. Among them: Gjivai Zechiel, born in 2004, who found the net and finished the match with a 96 per cent pass accuracy. In short, even if they’ve stumbled a little, they seem to be on the right track.

Then there is Napoli, who lost 3–1 to Villarreal. A poor performance that brings back into the spotlight a structural problem that has been evident since the opening days of the league season: Allegri’s defensive approach clashes with a lack of defensive strength, despite a high-quality attacking line-up. In the post-match press conference, Allegri said that “it seems defending has become a source of shame”. A statement that contrasts with the average of almost five goals per match seen in this second round of the League Phase. Are the players not following his lead, or is a change of mindset needed? There will be a lot of work to do at Castelvolturno.

Finally, Inter found themselves on the receiving end of a hat-trick from Nicolò Tresoldi, a self-confessed AC Milan supporter. Christian Chivu stuck to his game plan, with high pressing and vertical passes. Brugge, for their part, were impeccable in exploiting the open spaces left by Inter and, thanks to the pace of their forwards, were able to cause the home side real problems. Chivu has a problem: Inter score and concede a lot. In these first eight matches, they have conceded fourteen goals – too many for a team that wants to go all the way in every competition. There are now six matches left to secure at least a place in the play-offs, and there will be a chance to put right the mistakes made in these first two matches. But time is running out; they need to act quickly.