After drawing exactly nine league games in the 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, Roma have reached that tally of stalemates again in 2024-25 – and with six matches to spare.
Their ninth Serie A draw this time was in the derby against Lazio, which was enough to prolong their unbeaten run in the league to 16 games, but helped little in the quest to overtake their rivals, which would have happened with a win.
Roma have been left with mixed emotions after their draws this season. There’s an old mantra that insists it’s a good outcome if a team haven’t played well enough to win, but sometimes these draws can be seen as missed opportunities, with the gap between three points and one point adding up the more it happens.
This season, for example, Juventus head coach Thiago Motta paid the price for drawing too many games and was sacked. In recent Roma history, Eusebio Di Francesco drew eight games out of 26 in the 2018-19 season before being fired in advance of its conclusion.
With where Roma were earlier this season, they could initially be grateful for picking up any points as they came, but as their ambitions have adjusted under Claudio Ranieri, will they come to rue not being able to turn some draws into wins?
Here’s an overview of each of Roma’s draws this season – including four from the Europa League as well – ranked from the least frustrating to the most frustrating.
LEAST: Tottenham Hotspur (2-2)
Roma’s trip to London to face Tottenham Hotspur in November threatened to be a torrid evening when Mats Hummels gave away a penalty, which would be scored by Son Heung-min, inside five minutes.
But what transpired afterwards was actually the first glimpse of how Roma would become more resilient after the return of Ranieri to the bench. Something seemed to switch in the players’ collective mindset as they made a tie of their Europa League clash.
Evan Ndicka equalised for Roma, before Brennan Johnson put Spurs ahead again. Much later, into second-half injury time, Hummels became the redeemed hero when scoring the equaliser.
It didn’t do much for Roma’s position in the league phase; they actually dropped a place in the table because of it. However, it planted the seeds for some more memorable comebacks – many of which turned into wins – overseen by Ranieri.
Napoli (1-1)
In their 1-0 loss to Napoli earlier in the season, which was Ranieri’s first game back in charge, Roma had seen just 37% of possession and managed only one shot on target.
They went into the return fixture, though, on a six-game unbeaten run in the league, and their approach was much better.
The match wasn’t without its frustrations – namely when former Roma defenders Juan Jesus and Leonardo Spinazzola combined to give Napoli the lead – but the manner in which a point was claimed made it impossible to come away with anything other than positive feelings.
Of course, it was Angeliño’s stoppage-time volley that got Roma fans out of their seats and, to add to the pleasure, made Antonio Conte very bitter afterwards.
Immediately after, Roma would go on to win their next seven Serie A matches in a row for the first time since early 2016.
Juventus (0-0)
Roma failed to win any of their first four Serie A matches, which not only left them in the bottom half of the table, but cost Daniele De Rossi his job just weeks after he was given a three-year contract.
Of those cursed four games, the one Roma could feel the least negative about was the goalless draw they managed away at Juventus.
Results have been notoriously hard to earn for Roma up in Turin since Juventus built their new stadium, but a draw was a fair reflection of this encounter. Possession was practically 50-50 and each side had just one shot on target.
There were some indications that Roma could move forward from the result as they went into the first international break of the season, but all their summer preparation would be undone just a couple of weeks later.
Athletic Club (1-1)
Athletic Club turned out to be the club that ended Roma’s journey in the Europa League, but before they met in the knockout phase, they played out a 1-1 draw on matchday one of the league phase.
This was just Roma’s second game after the sacking of De Rossi, so expectations were still skewed. Ivan Jurić was debuting as a coach of a European game and saw his side go in front thanks to Artem Dovbyk.
However, there was a kick in the teeth when Aitor Paredes equalised for the visitors in the 85th minute, denying Roma a winning start in a competition they had high hopes for.
Porto (1-1)
A consequence of Roma’s underperformance in the league phase of the Europa League was a tough knockout play-off against Porto, a familiar foe that had inflicted pain on La Magica in years gone by.
But Roma made a good start to the first leg away in Portugal, taking the lead on the verge of half time through the unlikely source of Zeki Çelik.
It was an arduous game, though, and Francisco Moura equalised for Porto before Bryan Cristante was sent off for getting two yellow cards.
Ultimately, Roma’s 3-2 win the following week in the second leg secured an aggregate win to make sure there were no regrets.
Cagliari (0-0)
After one of Roma’s highest-spending summers in years, and with visions of a long-term future with De Rossi at the helm, it’s safe to say it was underwhelming to start the season with a goalless draw against a side who had finished just one point above the relegation zone last season.
There were debuts for Enzo Le Fée and Matías Soulé, but Paulo Dybala was left on the bench at a time when the prospect of him being pushed out of the club was still concerning and distracting.
Dybala did come on partway through the second half, but questions were starting to be raised about whether De Rossi knew how to fit all these players together – or if they just wouldn’t fit together at all.
It was a season opener that sadly produced more questions than answers.
Juventus (1-1)
The caveat of Roma’s seven-game winning streak in Serie A between February and March was that the calibre of opponents being brushed aside wasn’t particularly high.
Thus, after seeing off Venezia, Parma, Monza, Como, Empoli, Cagliari and Lecce, there was significant anticipation about how Roma would get on against Juventus – not least because the opponents were in a state of transition after replacing Motta with Igor Tudor.
Roma fell behind to a Manuel Locatelli stunner, but Eldor Shomurodov gave them a foothold again after the break.
On the balance of play, a draw once again seemed a reasonable result to take, but Roma weren’t as proactive in their approach and missed the opportunity to go level on points with Juventus, which would have been unthinkable a few months before but would have been reality with a win and possibly put Champions League qualification on the radar.
Bologna (2-2)
A week after a derby win lifted Roma’s spirits in January, it was down to Dovbyk to score a 98th-minute penalty to rescue a point against Bologna.
Although Bologna deservedly finished above Roma last season, that was an upset to the usual hierarchy. And even though the same could repeat this year, the reality is that these are the kind of teams Roma need to be beating to get back to where they need to be.
Bologna had twice as many shots on target as Roma and remained above them in the table thanks to the shared points.
Lazio (1-1)
The derby is always a game circled in the calendar by both fanbases as one to win, but there have been more draws than victories for either side in Serie A meetings over the years.
Roma went into Sunday’s clash with Lazio having had four more days of rest, due to the Biancocelesti still being in the Europa League, but it was hard to tell who the most energised side was.
Mile Svilar was outstanding in goal for Roma, who weren’t able to start as positively as they had in the 2-0 win in January.
And there was a certain irony when Lazio’s opening goal was assisted by Luca Pellegrini and scored by Alessio Romagnoli – both of whom came through Roma’s academy despite their differing affinities.
Soulé’s splendid equaliser gave Roma something to shout about again, but Lazio tried everything to break up the flow of the game just as Ranieri’s side were gaining momentum.
Only once before in the three-points-for-a-win era had Roma been able to leapfrog Lazio in the table by winning a derby – in March 2022, with a 3-0 victory – so missing the chance to do so and put some pressure on the top four was somewhat disheartening, even if it was reassuring for Ranieri to remain unbeaten in all of his derbies after a perfect five wins from five before.
AC Milan (1-1)
When Roma and Milan met for their last game of 2024, both sides were standing out in Serie A for all the wrong reasons. Milan were eighth and Roma were 10th.
But it was Roma who went into the game in slightly better form, although they would have to overcome a hoodoo of struggling at San Siro for various years.
Milan took the lead through Tijjani Reijnders, but Dybala equalised for Roma, who pushed for a winner in an open game that could have gone either way.
The fact that Milan sacked their head coach, former Roma boss Paulo Fonseca, directly after this game showed how much was riding on it. And yet the Giallorossi remained seven points behind the Rossoneri in the table.
While it was a decent result at the time, it already felt then like a missed opportunity. Looking back now, from the vantage point of Roma being above Milan in the table these days, it almost definitely was.
Roma may have been in disarray in the first half of the season, but so were Milan, and this was a chance to put a marker down about their upcoming recovery of form.
Depending on how the reverse fixture goes in the penultimate game of the season, Roma still might finish above Milan, but in the bigger picture, failing to win a game in which they had almost 20 shots – and more on target than their hosts – could have affected their (outside) chances of finishing near the Champions League places.
Union Saint-Gilloise (1-1)
After 10 games under his belt, it was beginning to become clear that Jurić might not be cut out for this level of job.
A loss to Hellas Verona preceded Roma’s return to Europa League action, with Jurić effectively ordered to win that and his next Serie A game against Bologna to keep his job. He managed neither.
Roma took the lead in Belgium against Union Saint-Gilloise through Gianluca Mancini, but conceded 15 minutes later to Kevin Mac Allister.
It was another low point for Jurić’s disastrous spell in charge, putting Roma as far down the league phase table as 20th.
And yet for some it may have been liberating. Roma were becoming numb to results like this under Jurić, whose fate was sealed because of the dropped points.
Genoa (1-1)
A game that changed everything. After Dovbyk scored in the 37th minute, Roma were winning for the best part of an hour on matchday four against Genoa.
But when Koni De Winter equalised in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time, it was a damning blow.
The club hierarchy made the kneejerk reaction to sack De Rossi, which immediately threw Roma’s season into chaos.
The decision divided opinion, but many even within the squad were stunned. It took the Roma environment a long time to recover from what followed; in some ways, that process is still ongoing, and when Ranieri steps aside in the summer there could be a sudden reminder.
Where would Roma have been if that last-action goal hadn’t gone in? De Rossi still had some things to work out, but it could have been a more stable project had he stayed, given that his replacement only lasted 12 games.
Before De Rossi, the last Roma coach to lose his job after a draw had been Rudi Garcia back in January 2016. A late twist of fate in the game sealed De Rossi’s.
This draw will be etched into Roma’s history for the wrong reasons.
MOST: Monza (1-1)
Jurić had navigated his first three games in charge of Roma without defeat, but serious alarm bells were ringing when that first loss came – to Elfsborg in the Europa League.
Looking for a reaction, Roma returned to business in Serie A away at Monza, who were yet to win in the league all season.
Had they achieved that against Roma, it would have been a major embarrassment – but even only drawing to them was.
It took beyond an hour for Roma to open the scoring courtesy of Dovbyk, but the lead lasted for less than 10 minutes.
Only registering four shots on target against the side bottom of the league was dismal by Roma. It left a six-point gap between the two sides; for perspective, when they met again in February, they were 23 points apart and that became 26 when Roma won 4-0.
As mentioned earlier, Roma started beating these teams with ease in the early months 2025, but they seemed completely stuck back in October.
Roma can kick themselves about not picking up enough points in direct encounters against the likes of Juventus, Lazio and Milan, but when all is said and done this season, if they are two points off any objective, they will have to look back at a draw with a side bound for relegation as one that contributed to their own shortcomings.
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