Roma Women reached the halfway stage of the first part of the 2023-24 Serie A Femminile season by beating every team that stood in their way without falter.
As they prepare for the next phase of the campaign, here is a look at how their dominance so far compares to their previous seasons.
For each season, the number of opponents Roma beat at least once in the league (i.e. not simply the number of wins) is reflected – and the data proves just how much the team has grown over the past five years.
2018/19 – 8 out of 11
Roma finished fourth in their debut season in Serie A Femminile, despite it taking them until matchday five to claim their first win. The 2-1 triumph over Florentia in October 2018 was the start of a four-match winning sequence in the league, also including a 7-1 win over Chievo.
When the second half of the season started, Roma beat all three of the teams that had taken points off them in their first three games (Sassuolo, Tavagnacco and Verona).
Ultimately, the only teams Roma didn’t beat on either occasion were the three that finished above them in the table: Juventus (for whom Benedetta Glionna scored against the Giallorosse in one game), Milan (for whom Valentina Giacinti scored in both fixtures, and Manuela Giugliano in one) and Fiorentina (who also knocked Roma out of the Coppa Italia in the semi-final).
2019/20 – 8 out of 11 (but season curtailed)
After adding players like Giugliano, Camelia Ceasar and Andressa Alves to their squad, Roma found a better rhythm during their second season – that was, until lockdown put a premature halt to it.
They lost the season opener to Milan, but beat Fiorentina for the first time on matchday two.
This time, Roma once again beat eight of the other teams in the league, missing out on wins against Milan, Florentia and Juventus. However, they only got the chance to play those last two teams once.
Florentia would have been next up on the schedule if the pandemic hadn’t disrupted the season, with the remaining fixtures annulled.
2020/21 – 8 out of 11
Although 2020-21 was the season in which Roma recorded their lowest league finish, it was actually where things really got going in terms of them being a competitive side – thanks to them winning the Coppa Italia for the first time.
For the third year in a row, Roma beat eight different teams in the league. The three that stopped them all came in a row: Milan, Florentia and Juventus.
A certain Giacinti was the only difference between Roma and Milan across those two fixtures (the cup final was also a draw, but the Giallorosse won on penalties), while both Florentia matches were 1-1 draws and the 1-0 loss at home to Juventus was the narrowest defeat Betty Bavagnoli’s side had suffered against the champions.
2021/22 – 9 out of 11
A new era began in the summer of 2021 with the appointment of Alessandro Spugna as Roma’s new head coach, while Betty Bavagnoli moved into more of a boardroom role.
Roma achieved Champions League qualification for the first time after finishing as runners up to Juventus in what wasn’t quite a full-on title battle, but made things interesting enough mathematically until a late stage.
The main challenge presented by the schedule was playing Inter, Juventus, Milan and Sassuolo consecutively – twice. In the second half of the season, Roma actually got through that run of games unbeaten, but the Juventus and Milan games were draws, which made those two the only teams Spugna had failed to overcome – yet.
2022/23 – 9 out of 9 (after Scudetto pool)
The best way to come out on top of a table is to beat everyone else in it, which is what Roma managed to do over time in 2022-23.
The first Scudetto in Roma Women’s history was well earned, as Spugna’s side finished 13 points clear at the top to dethrone Juventus.
There was a format change in Serie A Femminile for 2022-23, whereby the number of teams reduced from 12 to 10 and once they had all played each other twice, the teams in the top half would all face off twice again (as would those in the bottom half).
Even during the regular season, the only team Roma couldn’t beat were Juventus, but after the league split, there was a famous 3-2 win over the previous champions thanks to a late Sophie Roman Haug goal.
Such was Roma’s position of dominance at that stage that the result itself was more of a psychological lift than one that really made a mathematical difference, since they claimed a win over Fiorentina in the next fixture to make their lead unassailable and become champions.
2023/24 – 9 out of 9
Any fears that Roma’s joy may be short-lived, especially after the departures of Andressa, Carina Wenninger and Roman Haug, were emphatically blown away by the manner in which they started their title defence.
The 2023-24 season began with their best ever winning streak across all competitions, with 10 consecutive victories collected, including against seven of their league opponents.
After a well-earned Champions League draw against Bayern Munich, it was business as usual back in domestic action, as Roma went on to complete the full set in the league by ticking off Sassuolo and Fiorentina too.
In fact, never in those first nine league games were Roma even in a losing position, as they emphasised their status as the team to catch.
It gave them a three-point lead over Juventus (who they beat 3-1 in November with goals from Giugliano, Emilie Haavi and summer signing Evelyne Viens) around a third of the way into the whole season, momentum they will be aiming to maintain for the rest of its duration in an attempt to do something their male counterparts never have – retain a Scudetto.
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