It seems that every season, one of Serie A’s giants endures a run of luck that’s bad enough to amaze even neutral observers. Match-fixing and conspiracy theories aside, without a doubt the club with the unshakable black cloud hanging over its head this season is AC Milan. At the very beginning of the season, Milan was admittedly guilty of poor form-and particularly poor finishing-but in its last three home games, against the league’s top three teams, the Rossoneri has managed to dominate but lose. Of the three, Milan’s 2-0 loss at home to Palermo on Sept. 24 is probably the most deserved, despite a few crossbars and countless near-misses, but the thrilling 4-3 loss to Inter came down to two unstoppable world-class goals and some poor marking on set pieces. On Saturday, the Rossoneri fell again at home, 2-1, to third-place Roma, in a rousing match they absolutely dominated, again cracking the crossbar twice, creating a series of other chances. You couldn’t help but feel that this just isn’t going to be AC Milan’s year, which now lies 20 points behind neighboring Inter Milan at the top. For Roma, it was inspired performance from captain Francesco Totti, who scored both goals, and his Brazilian supporting cast of Rodrigo Taddei and Roberto Mancini, the men who supplied both goals. Both came from defensive errors: the first one a poor clearance found Taddei inside the area. His pass found Totti, who brilliantly volleyed home after seven minutes. The second came with just seven minutes to go, after Daniele De Rossi stole the ball off Clarence Seedorf in the Milan half. His touch found Alberto Aquilani, who acrobatically fed Mancini into space. The Brazilian then flighted a perfect ball to the unmarked Totti at the back post. Milan’s title challenge is now surely over.