Juventus Women fell to their first loss of the Serie A season on Sunday, with Roma taking the points with them from Biella after a 3-1 Matchday 6 win.
The build-up for this game in Biella was huge, with both sides coming into the game with 100% records from their respective opening five matches of the season. And things started according to the billing, with Juventus and Roma causing problems for one another and each goalkeeper having work to do.
Cristiana Girelli, Arianna Caruso and Julia Grosso were the Bianconere looking the most likely to threaten Camelia Ceasar's goal, and Pauline Peyraud-Magnin was doing well to keep Roma out at the other end.
But then Manuela Giugliano stepped up. She first smacked an effort off the crossbar from long range, then opening the scoring by heading into a near-empty goal from close range after Emilie Haavi had seen an attempt of her own denied.
The Bianconere kept pushing and seeking a way back, but they just couldn't get through the visitors' last line of defence. Girelli tried again but couldn't find the net, then Lineth Beerensteyn showed fine footwork to carve out a chance for herself before shooting over.
In the second half, though, Roma stepped it up. Haavi doubled their lead shortly after the restart, and Evelyne Viens got their third in similar fashion.
The minutes passed and Juventus sought a way back into the game. Julia Grosso managed to reduce the deficit, and the hosts then enjoyed a spell on top but were unable to get themselves back into a position of parity.
And so it ended 3-1 to Roma in Biella, but the season still has a long way to go.
MONTEMURRO'S POST-MATCH COMMENTS
"The result is fai. Roma played a great game and were stronger than we were; we made too many mistakes. You simply cannot make mistakes against a team like Roma. I don't want to make excuses and talk about the absences we had, but if you make mistakes at this level you pay for them.
"The girls know that we have to try to improve and seek perfection. Now we'll analyse the game, try to understand where we went wrong, and we'll go again from there. The season is still long."
JUVENTUS WOMEN - ROMA 1-3
Serie A - Matchday 6
Stadio La Marmora-Pozzo (Biella) | Sunday, November 5, 12:30
Goals: 27’ Giugliano (R), 50' Haavi (R), 57' Viens (R); 60'’Grosso (J)
Juventus: Peyraud-Magnin, Nilden (61' Gama), Salvai (Cap) (79' Sembrant), Cascarino, Boattin, Caruso, Grosso, Garbino (61’ Nystrom), Bonansea (61' Cantore), Girelli, Beerensteyn.
Unused subs: Aprile, Toniolo, Palis, Thomas, Bellucci.
Coach: Joseph Montemurro
Roma: Ceasar, Minami, Di Guglielmo, Viens (61' Glionna), Kumagai, Giacinti (84' Kramzar), Giugliano (Cap) (84' Tomaselli) Haavi, Aigbogun, Greggi (73' Feiersinger) Linari.
Unused subs: Korpela, Valdezate, Ciccotti, Latorre, Pellegrino Cimo.
Coach: Alessandro Spugna
Referee: Mirabella Domenico
Assistants: Landoni Luca, Lipari Giuseppe
Fourth Official: Pandini Simone
Cautioned: 12 ’Di Guglielmo (R), 21’Garbino (J), 41' Viens (R), 70' Aigbogun (R)