Hope may be lost for Roma. Another poor result this past weekend and Champions League football now appears to be an impossible dream. Luis Enrique’s men are currently 7 points back of city rivals Lazio for that third Champions League spot, and they have yet gone on a lengthy run of success, which does not bode well for the remaining 7 games. As Roma’s inconsistent season comes to the end, it seems the window for the third spot is now shut.

The first season for the young coach has been completely unpredictable. Some games, Roma seem great while, at other times, they have been completely out played, with Saturday’s 4-2 loss to Lecce being the latest example. A loss to a team like Lecce is completely inexcusable, especially for a team that hopes to be in Europe next season. Lecce, even with the win, are still in the relegation zone, four points back of safety. Following this defeat, Roma have now conceded a total of 41 goals. Only Inter with 44, have conceded more amongst the top ten teams in the league. Tie in the difficulty of the remaining seven games and Roma will consider themselves lucky if they play in the Europa League next season.

Roma are fortunate to return home for the next two games as they welcome Udinese and Fiorentina. Udinese is a must win as they currently sit 4 points ahead of Enrique’s squad. Their last meeting was unfortunate for Roma as two late goals saw the Udine side take home three points. The last five games have been similar to Roma, where some games have gone their way and others, like defeats to Siena and Novara, have left some people speechless.  Roma do have limited control over their fate but to do so means they need to do something they haven’t done all season, show consistency. Of the next four games, Roma take on three teams currently sitting ahead of them on the table. It is easy to say that the chance of Champions League looks grim.

Of course even if Roma can find consistency and win, they still need the other three teams, Napoli, Udinese, and Lazio, to drop some points. Currently in  third spot, Lazio, have their toughest game mid-week as they travel to Juventus. They also take on Udinese and end their season against Inter. Throw in a few resilient mid-table teams, Atalanta and Siena, and Lazio have a fairly difficult schedule ahead of them. The situation for Udinese is also similar. Roma, Inter, and Lazio are all waiting for them. Napoli, on the other hand, look to have the easiest schedule for the remainder of the season. Only Roma remain of the top 7 teams left to face. The next three toughest opponents, Siena, Atalanta, and Palermo, are all at the San Paolo. It is hard to imagine a scenario where Roma get all their issues sorted out while Napoli, Lazio, and Udinese go on dropping points.

The task may be too tall for Luis Enrique. Roma have not played consistent football all year and it is hard to imagine that they will for the remainder of the season. Roma need many things outside of their control to happen if they want to play in Europe’s biggest stage. In the end it looks like mission impossible for Roma. Stranger things have happened, but Enrique hasn’t been blessed with luck either this season.