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Roma Take Heart From Genoa Fight

So it's as you were at the top of Serie A, Roma's win on Saturday cancelled out without too much fuss by Inter on Sunday. Both teams were without their talismanic figures - for Roma, Totti and for Inter, Ibrahimovic.

Totti's injury could not have come at a worse time for i Giallorossi, with the run-in to the title now in the final straight. What seemed all over a few weeks ago was down to just one point on Saturday evening. Roma still believe everything is possible, with De Rossi personifying this mantra. He coolly stood in for il capitano to dispatch the winning penalty against an organised Genoa team.

The Champions League tie is also not a foregone conclusion according to Bruno Conti, who takes heart from the fact that Genoa scored two goals in a minute, so why shouldn't Roma against a threadbare Man United defence? As Italian Sky are billing it 'It's now or never' for Roma to prove their worth - most probably without Totti, who was only scheduled to start running on Monday after his injury.

The following day, Inter responded with a determined 2-0 win away in Bergamo. Not showing any of the nerves that have manifested themselves in recent times, especially after Mancini's spectacular rendition of the The Clash's 'Should I stay or should I go' after the loss to Liverpool in the Champions League. With Mario Balotelli leading the line and scoring for the first time in Serie A, Inter stretched their lead back to four points. They still need to play Fiorentina next week and of course the derby on May 4 but it's hard to see them having a meltdown a la Cuper's Inter and throwing away the scudetto.

All the other contenders for a European berth won with the exception of Juventus, who lost a pulsating game against Palermo to a wonder goal from outside the area in the last minute of the game. Buffon had already been the victim of a curling top corner shot from Amauri but Cassani's thunderbolt took the smile off Alex Del Piero's face after he had equalised with a brace in the second half.

The question of Del Piero for the national team again raised its head after this game, when in a post-match interview he flat-batted with a reply that Donadoni was looking at everyone including him for a place in the squad for Euro 2008. Another problem that will not go away is of course flawed genius Antonio Cassano. After serving out his five-match ban for wanting to decapitate a referee and then offering him out after the match, he returned to inspire a fast-improving Sampdoria against Livorno. With a realistic prospect of not only UEFA Cup but Champions League football next season, Sampdoria joined Milan in fifth spot to make it a four-way shoot-out for fourth place.

'Cassano for Italy' divides studios all over Italian television. The one thing all the pundits agree on is his talent. Announcing himself to Serie A with a wonder goal against Inter for Bari on his debut, he looks finally at home after years of squandering his talent. The thing that gets the studio decibel levels racing though is, 'Should he go to Euro 2008?' The need to balance out his talent with his fragile temperament is a question Donadoni has to seriously consider. It could be down to a straight choice between Del Piero and Cassano. The clean-cut advertisers' dream against the pock-marked psychiatrist's nightmare. Let's see if Donadoni has the palle (balls) to make the choice.

Football365.com - Roma Take Heart From Genoa Fight - Gazzetta - Football365 News

assuming that we score at least one, for Roma to score three at Old Trafford would be a miracle. United is not Genoa, even with John O'Shea and Gerrard Pique in the back.