Story highlights
Roma sets new record in Serie A by winning its 10th straight game to start season
Marco Borriello scores in the second half to give Roma a 1-0 win over last-place Chievo
In Spain, Atletico Madrid kept pace with Barcelona by beating Granada 2-1
A strike in France moved closer after the French president refused to budge on tax policy
Roma became the first team in Serie A history to win its opening 10 games of the season after a 1-0 victory over bottom feeder Chievo, a result that also restored the Giallorossi’s five-point advantage at the top of the table over Juventus and Napoli.
Roma bossed possession – amassing 65% overall – but when the hour mark passed and the match remained scoreless it appeared as if Chievo would engineer an upset and take a point in the Eternal City. Club legend Francesco Totti couldn’t bail out Roma, since he was out injured.
Marco Borriello, however, struck in the 67th minute with a header to put an end to Chievo’s resistance.
Read: Are Roma the best team in Europe?
Borriello’s effort was one of 18 shots for Rudi Garcia’s Roma, while Chievo only mustered two.
Roma ground out a 1-0 win at Udinese on Sunday to make it nine in a row and match the feat of Juventus during the 2005/06 season. Juventus was later stripped of its title that campaign as part of a match-fixing scandal.
Atletico keeps pace
Days after pledging his international future to Spain instead of Brazil – the country of his birth – Diego Costa scored again as Atletico Madrid beat Granada 2-1 to keep the pressure on Barcelona in La Liga.
Costa moved ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo in the scoring charts on 12 goals when he converted a penalty in the first half and ex Barcelona front man David Villa also found the back of the net from the spot in the second half. Villa won both penalties.
Granada pulled a goal back in injury time after Atletico’s Filipe Luis was sent off in the 89th minute for a second yellow but Atletico hung on for a vital victory despite not playing at its best.
“What really makes me happy is the effort made by the players,” Atletico manager Diego Simeone told the club website. “It’s not easy to win, win, win and keep winning.”
Atletico improved to 30 points, one behind the Catalans, after improving to 10 wins and a defeat.
Despite Lionel Messi’s month-long scoring slump in the league, Barcelona beat city rival Celta Vigo 3-0 away on Tuesday to temporarily move four points ahead.
Real Madrid completes the top three. In a hole following a Clasico defeat to Barcelona on Saturday, Ronaldo bagged a hat-trick and Gareth Bale scored his first goals at the Bernabeu in a 7-3 thrashing of Sevilla on Wednesday.
Impasse continues in France
A strike by clubs from Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 moved ever closer after French President Francois Hollande refused to budge on plans to hit high earners with a hefty 75% tax rate for two years.
A meeting with club owners did little to change Hollande’s mind Thursday, meaning the teams look certain to sit out games between November 29 and December 2.
The scheme, which could be implemented next year, was initiated to help reduce France’s budget deficit although the clubs argue they’re unfair targets since many of them are struggling financially.
“Club representatives have not been heard despite several constructive proposals,” the Union of Professional Football Clubs said in a statement on its website.
“This tax, which was initially meant for the richest, will in our case impact companies in debt.”
Those who earn more than 1 million euros ($1.38 million) a year would have to pay the 75% rate. But it’s the clubs, not the players, who would have to cough up the funds.
