What can we even say at this point? What else even needs to be said? Roma once again turned in a dismal first half performance, only to be bailed out by some second half heroics, with Maicon rising to the occasion this afternoon. If you're keeping score at home, that makes four straight draws for the Giallorossi, who may find themselves nine points adrift of league leading Juventus come tomorrow evening, while third place Napoli has the chance to put some heat on Roma's heels, as a victory over Chievo will shrink Roma's hold on second place to a mere four points.
Beside limping to their fourth straight draw, their sixth in their last eight league matches, Roma matched a ten year old club record, falling to secure a victory at the Olimpico on four straight occasions, a depth they hadn't reached since 2005.
I meant what I said just two short paragraphs ago; there isn't really much we can say about this one, it was the same old song we've seen since November really. Roma outpossessed (56% to 44%), outpassed (84% to 77%) and outshot Empoli (20 to 7), yet, due to a relative lack of quality chances, those numbers mattered little. Try this one on for size, Roma inundated the Empoli backline with 20 shots on goal, nearly tripling Empoli's offensive output, yet only five of those attempts came from inside the area.
Roma was dreary, uninspired and just plain awful. It's all well and good to rip shots from deep, but, in the end, what good does it do you?
So we'll just leave you with this, Maicon's equalizer, because it was actually quite lovely
Maicon: 57th Minute
Great move by Miralem Pjanic to evade the defense and carve out enough space to hit the wide...and I mean wide...open Maicon who nonchalantly slotted it into the far post with his left foot; a pretty effortless looking goal, but one that required a great touch.
While the Scudetto is long gone, let's be thankful for the timely goals chipped in by Francesco Totti, Adem Ljajic and now Maicon, because with the way they've been playing, Roma will need every ounce of help to hold onto second place.