Juventus Creep Into Serie A Title Race as Ferguson Faces Criticism at Roma
Juventus secured a 2-1 victory over Roma to move within one point of the fourth spot in Serie A. Loïs Openda scored the decisive goal, while Gleison Bremer made his first start since 27 September following a knee injury. Despite the win, Juventus remain reliant on Kenan Yildiz. Edon Zhegrova was substituted on but misplayed a ball, allowing Roma's Baldanzi to score.
Roma's Evan Ferguson started the match but did not extend his Serie A goal tally. Gian Piero Gasperini openly criticised Ferguson and questioned the value of Premier League loan signings Leon Bailey and Kostas Tsimikas. Gasperini indicated a preference for Paulo Dybala over Ferguson and reports suggest Roma may shorten the loans of Ferguson (Brighton), Bailey (Aston Villa), and Tsimikas (Liverpool), potentially bringing in replacements such as Joshua Zirkzee.
Elsewhere, Fiorentina achieved their first win of the season with a commanding 5-1 victory over Udinese, a match marked by Udinese goalkeeper Maduka Okoye's sending off. In another fixture, Genoa was reduced to 10 men early due to a first-minute red card for Nicola Leali, before Atalanta secured a 1-0 win courtesy of Isak Hien.
The Serie A table shows Inter leading with 33 points, followed by Milan on 32, Napoli on 31, and Roma on 30, with Juventus trailing closely on 29. Fiorentina remain bottom of the table with just 9 points, highlighting a fragmented campaign across the league.
In other events, Napoli, Inter, Milan, and Bologna participated in the Supercoppa Italiana Final Four held in Riyadh. Naples will face Bologna in the final on 22 December. Meanwhile, Serie A Week 16 fixtures have been postponed to mid-January.
