By ANDREW DAMPF
AP Sports Writer
Associated Press Sports
updated 9:30 a.m. ET Sept. 15, 2011
ROME (AP) -It is only the second round of Serie A and Inter Milan coach Gian Piero Gasperini is already facing a must-win match against Roma on Saturday.
Inter has lost all three of its games thus far under Gasperini, capped by an embarrassing 1-0 home loss to Turkish debutante Trabzonspor in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Inter was beaten 2-1 by AC Milan in the Italian Super Cup last month and lost 4-3 at Palermo in its Serie A opener last weekend, allowing four goals for the first time in a league match in more than seven years.
Still, the loss to Trabzonspor was even more stunning, prompting a Gazzetta dello Sport headline Thursday that called it a "Turkish bath" for Gasperini.
"I know faith has its limits, and that we've got to produce some results in a hurry," Gasperini said.
Roma is also in crisis, having opened the Italian league with a 2-1 home loss to Cagliari after also losing a Europa League playoff to Slovan Bratislava.
By contrast, Napoli hosts defending Serie A champion AC Milan on Sunday with both clubs coming off impressive Champions League openers. Milan drew 2-2 at title holder Barcelona on Tuesday and Napoli drew 1-1 at big-spending Manchester City a day later.
Juventus didn't qualify for Europe this season but opened with a spectacular 4-1 win over Parma and will be favored for another easy victory at Siena.
Also this weekend, it's: Cagliari vs. Novara; Atalanta vs. Palermo; Bologna vs. Lecce; Catania vs. Cesena; Lazio vs. Genoa; Parma vs. Chievo Verona; and Udinese vs. Fiorentina.
Gasperini was only hired in June after previous Inter coach Leonardo unexpectedly left for an executive position with Paris Saint-Germain.
With Rafa Benitez having coached Inter for the first half of last season, Gasperini is the club's third manager since Jose Mourinho bolted to Real Madrid after guiding Inter to a treble in 2010.
Inter president Massimo Moratti said he wants to give Gasperini "time to work."
"There definitely won't be any change in the next few days," Moratti said after the Trabzonspor loss. "The team wasn't placed poorly on the pitch tonight. Maybe it didn't have much rhythm, maybe it didn't have that quickness needed to win, but you can't blame that on the coach."
Gasperini was widely criticized for his three-man defense against Palermo and he reverted to a more traditional four-man back line against Trabzonspor following an apparent suggestion from Moratti. It didn't make much of a difference, though, as Czech defender Ondrej Celustka placed his winning shot past Inter's most respected defender, Lucio, as two other defenders stood watching.
"For the moment all we can do is wait. The formation was changed and for now the play is a bit stalled," Moratti said.
Samuel Eto'o, Inter's standout forward from the last two seasons, transferred to Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala a few weeks ago, and his main replacement, Diego Forlan, is cup-tied after joining from Atletico Madrid.
Forlan therefore couldn't play against Trabzonspor, but the Golden Ball winner at last year's World Cup with Uruguay will be back in action against Roma. However, Inter midfielder Dejan Stankovic is questionable with a right thigh problem that also kept him out versus Trabzonspor.
Roma, meanwhile, is still searching for its identity under new American ownership and Spanish coach Luis Enrique.
Enrique was widely criticized for removing longtime captain Francesco Totti in the second half of the decisive match with Slovan Bratislava, and all Roma could produce against Cagliari was a consolation goal in injury time from Daniele De Rossi.
At ?58 million ($80 million), Roma spent the most in Italy on new players in the offseason, but the likes of Bojan Krcic, Pablo Osvaldo, Erik Lamela and Miralem Pjanic have yet to form a cohesive group.
Totti, who is in his 20th season with Roma, took all of his teammates to dinner this week in an effort to create some unity.
Meanwhile, Milan appears to be getting back into form, with Brazil internationals Alexandre Pato and Thiago Silva scoring at the very beginning and very end against Barcelona.
Milan fell behind 2-0 to Lazio in its league opener last weekend then equalized with goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Antonio Cassano. However, Ibrahimovic is now out for up to a month with a leg injury, captain Massimo Ambrosini could also miss a month after damaging his shoulder against Barcelona, and midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng has pain in his side and will also likely sit out against Napoli.
Napoli beat Cesena 3-1 in its opener and had chances to take a two-goal lead against City after Edinson Cavani finished off a swift counterattack.
"Maybe it's better that it ended this way, otherwise we might have lost some focus," Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis said.
? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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More newsAFP - Getty ImagesTrabzonspor stuns Inter Milan
Trabzonspor marked its Champions League debut by upsetting Inter Milan 1-0 on Wednesday night, while Manchester United and Manchester City were held to draws.
Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/44225939/ns/sports-soccer/
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