Scorers: Tonetto 33 (S), Flachi pen 78 (S), Montella pen 93 (R)

Roma's crisis knows no bounds and neither does Sampdoria's ambition as these two clubs fight on opposite ends of the table.

This was expected to be a head to head battle for Champions' League places, but Roma instead found themselves in the bottom half of the table after a dismal run of results that saw just one point from their last seven. To make matters worse, Francesco Totti was out with a five-match ban for punching Siena's Francesco Colonnese midweek, though Leandro Cufre' returned from his suspension for a similar incident. Vincenzo Montella and Antonio Cassano started despite suffering from fitness worries.

Former Sampdoria hero Montella tried to curl into the top corner rather than cross to an unmarked Cassano in the opening stages, while Max Tonetto drilled over from a promising position.

Cassano was easily Roma's most inspired player and created several fine scoring opportunities for his teammates, but Samp were slowly making more of an impact with a chance for Aimo Diana.

It was the Blucerchiati who broke the deadlock when Francesco Flachi's inspired spin set Max Tonetto running for a delicate finish over the helpless Gianluca Curci.

Cassano was even useful in defence, as he rushed back to tackle Vitali Kutuzov in the area on a counter-attack.

The tension rose at Marassi and there was a clash between Leandro Cufre' and Aimo Diana. Bruno Conti knew he couldn't waste any more time and threw on Amantino Mancini for defender Philippe Mexes.

The Brazilian substitute almost made an immediate impact, as on 54 minutes his stunning free kick thumped the outside of the upright with Francesco Antonioli left rooted to the spot.

Roma couldn't quite maintain consistent pressure and Curci needed a spectacular save on 65 minutes. He rushed off his line to clear from Flachi, but the ball fell to Kutuzov and the goalkeeper had to back-pedal furiously to flap the accurate lob out of the top corner.

Giallorossi teenage goalkeeper Curci was again decisive with a splendid one-handed save on Flachi's angled drive.

Roma were extremely unlucky on 72 minutes when a chaotic move somehow failed to result in a goal. Mancini's shot was pushed up into the air by Antonioli and came out to Daniele De Rossi only for his diving header to slam the crossbar.

However, the referee pointed to the spot for a clumsy Cufre' challenge from behind on Cristiano Doni. Francesco Flachi stepped up and buried the penalty to double Sampdoria's lead with 12 minutes to go.

Former Roma reject Antonioli kept out a close-range Montella attempt with his feet and in stoppages there was at least the chance to get a consolation goal when Stefano Sacchetti brought down Cassano. Montella converted the penalty against his former club.

Montella and Cassano had late chances to grab an equaliser, but Antonioli was equal to them and Roma slide further down the standings.

Sampdoria: Antonioli; Zenoni, Castellini, Sacchetti, Pisano; Diana (Doni 66), Palombo, Volpi, Tonetto; Flachi (Edusei 88), Kutuzov (Rossini 77)

Roma: Curci; Ferrari, Chivu, Mexes (Mancini 48); Cufre, Perrotta (Dacourt 67), Aquilani, De Rossi, Panucci; Montella, Cassano

Ref: Paparesta

Scorers: Maccarone 60 (S), Chiesa 88 (S)
Stadio Olimpico

Roma are officially in crisis and at risk of relegation after Francesco Totti's dismissal and their second consecutive home defeat.

The Giallorossi were closer to the relegation zone than Champions' League places going into this match after their shock 2-1 home defeat to Reggina on Sunday, having earned one point from their last six games.

Siena's confidence was at an all-time high just days after beating leaders Milan with a tactically perfect performance. Roma were still without Traianos Dellas and the suspended Leandro Cufre', opting to leave Antonio Cassano on the bench, while Rodrigo Taddei was on a ban for the Bianconeri and they rested Enrico Chiesa.

It wasn't a good start for Roma, as within five minutes Gianluca Curci had to fly and tip Igor Tudor's header over the bar.

The Giallorossi also thumped the woodwork on 31 minutes, as Christian Panucci's header from a Mancini cross struck the upright and Alex Manninger performed a miracle to flap it off the line.

Another set-piece caused problems soon after, as Totti's corner kick was punched out as far as Cristian Chivu, whose fearsome left-foot volley rattled the crossbar.

A splendid Montella flick was turned on to the upright by Manninger in the second half, but it wouldn't have counted as he was in an offside position.

Roma were piling on the pressure as time wore on and Daniele De Rossi wasted a good opportunity, but just as Siena were hanging on for dear life, they struck on the counter-attack. Alberto ran 70 metres before rolling the ball across for Massimo Maccarone.

Francesco Totti is the Roma player with the worst disciplinary record this season and he was first booked for a clash with Tudor, then sent off for an off the ball incident on Colonnese.

Manninger flew to palm out Mancini's rising shot as ten-man Roma continued to pour forward with substitute Antonio Cassano.

But Siena could've made it 2-0 when Curci got himself behind Enrico Chiesa's free kick and Maccarone squirmed the follow-up wide of the target.

The Tuscans eventually did double their lead in the final minutes when Chiesa was left totally unmarked to gather Maccarone's cross-field pass and fire in at the near post.

Roma: Curci; Mexes, Ferrari (Corvia 80), Chivu, Panucci; Mancini (Aquilani 80), Perrotta (Cassano 67), Dacourt, De Rossi; Totti, Montella

Siena: Manninger; Mignani, Colonnese (Portanova 70), Cirillo; Alberto (Foglio 80), Vergassola, Tudor, D'Aversa, Falsini; Chiumiento (Chiesa 59), Maccarone

Ref: Dondarini

Sent off: Totti 70 (R)

Scorers: Chivu 24 (Ro), Franceschini 71 (Re), Bonazzoli 83 (Re)

Reggina shocked the Stadio Olimpico and fought back from a goal down to earn a victory that surely ends Roma's Champions' League ambitions.

The Giallorossi were 10 points adrift of the Champions' League places going into this game and welcomed back Francesco Totti, Christian Panucci, Daniele De Rossi and Philippe Mexes, though Leandro Cufre sat out the first of a two-match ban. Reggina had lost six of their last seven games, but had beaten Roma earlier this season.

The first real save was on De Rossi's powerful but central strike after seven minutes of play, then Amantino Mancini's angled drive was only parried and he hit the follow-up into the side-netting.

Reggina were certainly not going to be happy playing for a stalemate and moments later Gaetano De Rosa's accurate header brought a great save out of Gianluca Curci for a corner kick.

The young goalkeeper was again called into action and flew to tip Giuseppe Colucci's rising shot over the bar, while Giandomenico Mesto fired off target as Reggina pushed forward in these early stages.

When Roma did manage to attack, they certainly did it with style. On 23 minutes Cassano and Totti duetted divinely with half a dozen passes and only a desperate defensive intervention prevented the captain from walking the ball into the net.

The resulting corner kick proved decisive anyway, as it came out to Cristian Chivu's left foot for an absolute screamer from 26 metres that rocketed into the top corner before Salvatore Soviero knew what had happened. The Romanian defender had also scored a stunning goal in last week's 3-3 draw at Udinese.

Totti then set Vincenzo Montella running with an incredible backheeled cross that looped back over his head, but the hitman's chip was off target.

Daniele De Rossi wanted to keep up with his teammates and tried to flick Mancini's cross in with his heel, but this time Soviero was alert.

The goal had clearly woken Roma up and there was another sumptuous team move between Cassano, Totti and Mancini, but soon after Matteo Ferrari had to charge down Mozart's piledriver.

Reggina again had a strong start to the half and Curci was impressive with a one-handed save to tip Giacomo Tedesco's swerving strike out for a corner.

De Rosa's looping header from a deflected cross swung on to the roof of the net as the Amaranto pushed hard for an equaliser against an increasingly nervous Roma side. They moved to the 3-5-2 system when forward Marco Borriello replaced winger Giandomenico Mesto.

On the hour mark there was a golden opportunity for Reggina to draw level, but Montella was on the line for a decisive clearance on Tedesco's header.

Totti tried to break the siege with a fierce strike from 20 metres that was just over the crossbar and moments later Soviero timed his intervention perfectly to push Mancini's low cross off Montella's foot after the move had been started by the captain.

Cassano wasted the chance to double Roma's lead on 67 minutes when he had space to shoot, but opted to pass it back to Montella instead and it went begging.

Tedesco took advantage of a very complacent Mexes pass and found himself in a promising position only to blast it over the bar.

Another defensive error cost Roma dearly on 71 minutes, as Reggina found their equaliser at the end of a chaotic move. Curci performed two stunning saves to keep out Borriello, but the ball squirmed into the path of Ivan Franceschini for a tap-in.

Roma's fitness levels had simply collapsed in the second half and they looked sluggish, though Totti curled a free kick wide of the target and a well-timed De Rosa intervention stopped Cassano from scoring.

The following corner kick was chaos in the area, as Mancini's scissor-kick was redirected by Montella's head, then Panucci struck the post from close range and the Serie A top scorer again ballooned over the bar from less than six yards.

Panucci suffered an injury during that move and had to be replaced by youth team player Valerio Virga for the final 10 minutes.

However, the Giallorossi were visibly weakening as time went on and Reggina took the lead moments later. Emiliano Bonazzoli spun round Ferrari and placed his angled drive into the far corner to stun the Stadio Olimpico.

Chivu, who had opened the scoring, went for a second though Soviero was able to punch away his curling free kick. Montella ran on to a Cassano through ball and was muscled off it by Jacopo Balestri, while at the other end Curci sprinted outside his box to clear from Esteves.

Deep into stoppages Totti's free kick was slightly deflected to shave the woodwork, but Reggina picked up all three points and left Roma to be booed off the pitch.

Roma: Curci; Panucci (Virga 81), Mexes, Ferrari, Chivu; De Rossi, Dacourt, Mancini; Totti, Cassano, Montella

Reggina: Soviero; Cannarsa, Zamboni, Franceschini, De Rosa; Mesto (Borriello 58), Mozart, Tedesco, Balestri; Colucci (Esteves 69); Bonazzoli (Piccolo 90)

Ref: Rizzoli

Scorers: Chivu 14 (R), Montella 19 (R), Di Natale 27 (U), Pinzi 33 (U), Mancini 44 (R), Di Michele 75 (U)

Roma threw away a 2-0 lead and eventually hung on for dear life at the end of an exhilarating six-goal thriller at the Stadio Friuli.

Roma knew they had to conquer the Friuli or give up hope of capturing a Champions' League spot this season. They were coming off four consecutive defeats and had to do without the suspended Francesco Totti, Simone Perrotta, Christian Panucci and Daniele De Rossi, while Ivan Pelizzoli, Traianos Dellas and Philippe Mexes were injured.

Leandro Cufre and Antonio Cassano were able to start despite being late fitness doubts, while 17-year-old midfielder Massimiliano Marsili was given his Serie A debut. Of the Roma starting eleven, only Olivier Dacourt, Leandro Cufre and Vincenzo Montella were over the age of 25.

On-form Udinese were boosted by the international debuts of David Di Michele, Vincenzo Iaquinta, Morgan De Sanctis and Giampaolo Pinzi in last week's 0-0 draw with Iceland.

Roma had the first chance after four minutes when Montella chipped up a cross for Alberto Aquilani, whose header was off target, while soon after Marek Jankulovski's turn was also wayward.

Udinese slowly took control and Gianluca Curci flew to palm Antonio Di Natale's fierce strike over the bar.

But it was the Giallorossi who took the lead after 14 minutes with a splendid free kick from set-piece specialist Cristian Chivu. The Romanian curled his finish in at the near post with his left foot from 28 metres.

Curci was the third choice goalkeeper going into this campaign, but he performed another stunning close-range reaction save on Nestor Sensini's spin.

Vincenzo Montella had not scored in almost two months, but he nodded in Amantino Mancini's deflected cross to double Roma's lead. Cassano also deserves much of the credit for this goal, as his solo run started the move.

Udinese got back into the game thanks to a defensive error, as Matteo Ferrari's weak clearance from a set-piece was straight into the path of Di Natale for a simple tap-in from six yards.

Curci was again crucial with a double save on Sulley Ali Muntari and David Di Michele's follow-up.

But Roma's disastrous defensive record struck again and Udinese completed their comeback by the 33rd minute. Jankulovski's cross was not dealt with and Giampiero Pinzi was totally unmarked at the back post to fire home past a helpless Curci.

It was a very entertaining game and Morgan De Sanctis performed an extraordinary save on youth team player Valerio Virga - who had just stepped on to the pitch to replace a clearly nervous Marsili - from close range.

Moments later Cassano dribbled past two players and was cut off in the area by Muntari, then Aquilani fired over the bar.

Cassano was the key figure at Roma in the absence of Totti and his cross-field pass found Amantino Mancini for a splendid angled drive that restored Roma's lead on the stroke of half-time. It was the Brazilian's fourth of the season and the fifth goal of an evenftul first half.

Per Kroldrup was introduced in the second period to give the Udinese defence a bit more pace, while Pinzi limped off with a calf problem.

There was chaos in the Roma area on 53 minutes as Jankulovski's effort was deflected into the path of Di Natale, whose finish was tipped on to the edge of the upright by Curci's elbow.

There was controversy soon after, as Leandro Cufre was caught on camera slapping Di Michele in the face as they waited for a free kick to be taken, but the referee did not witness the incident.

It turned into a siege with shots charged down by any means necessary and Jankulovski eventually firing wide, then Curci beat away both a David Pizarro free kick and Di Michele strike.

Montella made the most of the counter-attack and was off target from close range, but the Capocannoniere made way for 20-year-old Daniele Corvia.

Udinese's constant pressure eventually paid off on 75 minutes, as Cufre stayed behind and allowed Di Michele to remain onside for Pizarro's delightful chipped pass and he subtly lifted the ball over Curci to make it 3-3.

The confidence was now with the Friuli outfit and Curci smothered the ball on Iaquinta's feet after some good build-up from Di Michele.

Pizarro's fierce angled drive skimmed the upright, as did Di Michele's half-volley. Deep into stoppages a corner kick was taken quickly and Di Michele's bicycle-kick was inches wide of the post.

Udinese: De Sanctis; Bertotto, Sensini (Kroldrup 46), Felipe; Pinzi (Zenoni 48), Pizarro, Muntari, Jankulovski; Di Michele, Iaquinta, Di Natale (Fava 82)

Roma: Curci; Scurto (Briotti 88), Ferrari, Chivu, Cufre; Mancini, Marsili (Virga 36), Dacourt, Aquilani; Montella (Corvia 72), Cassano

Ref: Bertini