na is a good point to check how competitive we are." Alonso

MILAN - Title-chasing Roma was held to 1-1 at home by relegation-threatened Empoli on Saturday and looks set to lose more ground on Serie A leader Juventus.It was Romas fourth consecutive league draw, and left it six points behind Juventus, which visits Udinese on Sunday. Napoli can also close the gap to second place to four points if it wins at Chievo Verona.We are in a period with so many problems, and the only thing to take out of this is the reaction of the team, Roma coach Rudi Garcia said. Not only were we a goal down but also a man down. We gave everything in the second half, not only to draw, but also to win.With (Juan) Iturbes injury and (Davide) Astori hitting the crossbar, we can say that the wheel of fortune isnt turning for us. Things go better when you have choices, and at the moment I dont have that. Now we have to grit our teeth and, with the players we have, give everything to get back to winning ways.Roma already had personnel problems with a host of players injured, and Gervinho and new signing Seydou Doumbia at the African Cup of Nations. Matters grew worse when Iturbe was forced off with a knee injury after just 24 minutes.Empoli took a surprise lead in the 39th minute after Kostas Manolas was sent off for bundling into Riccardo Saponara, when the Empoli midfielder was through on goal. Massimo Maccarone converted the resulting penalty.The visitors were also reduced to 10 men in first-half stoppage time as Saponara received a second yellow card for a handling offence, although he argued he controlled the ball with his shoulder.Roma again looked like a different side after the break as it fought back for the fourth successive match, levelling when Douglas Maicon curled a Miralem Pjanic pass into the far bottom corner in the 57th.The capital side could have taken the lead shortly after but Davide Astori headed onto the crossbar.The tension was high, and Mario Rui claimed Pjanic punched him in the ribs off the ball. Empoli coach Maurizio Sarri was sent off for dissent.Empoli moved two points off the relegation zone with its seventh draw in nine matches.Earlier, Genoa drew 1-1 at home to Fiorentina.Fiorentina remained sixth ahead of the rest of the weekends fixtures, four points behind third-place Napoli. Genoa was three points further back.Genoa took the lead in comical circumstances. Stefano Sturaro, who was playing his last game for Genoa before moving to Juventus, somehow failed to put the ball straight into an empty net from six yards, but his shot hit the inside of the post and went in off the back of goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanus head.Fiorentina, which was playing its first match without Juan Cuadrado after his move to Chelsea, levelled 10 minutes into the second half. Matias Fernandezs cross was nodded on by a Genoa player, and Gonzalo Rodriguez headed in at the back post.Genoa had to play the final nine minutes with 10 men after Nicolas Burdisso was sent off following a second booking. 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Anything less than gold for either nation is considered a disappointment. Yet for Switzerland, advancing to the semifinal might be a victory in itself.MONTMELO, Spain -- Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso is telling his local fans to keep their expectations low for this Sundays Spanish Grand Prix. The two-time former Formula One champion downplayed his third-place finish three weeks ago in China and said progress is going slow for Ferrari as it tries to make up ground on Mercedes. "If I say we will fight for the podium I will probably be lying to you, and I dont want to disappoint our fans," Alonso said on Thursday, a day before practice begins at the seasons first event in Europe. Alonso sits third in the standings with 41 points after Mercedes pair Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton swept the first four races of the season. Rosberg leads the standings with 79 points with Hamilton four points behind. Ferraris last win came at Montmelo one year ago when Alonso got his second career victory on the circuit. Since then, it is on its longest streak without a victory in almost two decades after Red Bulls Sebastian Vettel dominated the end of last season before Mercedes took the lead this year. Alonso has yet to crack the top three spots in qualifying so far in 2014, while Kimi Raikkonen has fared even worse in his return to the team that he won the world title with in 2007. The Finn hasnt finished in the top six spots in any race, and has also lacked speed in qualifying. "We finished ninth and 10th in Bahrain and did podium in China because we had some things (come) together on that Sunday, but it is not that we are in a position to say we will fight for the podium here," Alonso said.dddddddddddd. "Barcelona is a good point to check how competitive we are." Alonso said Ferraris upgrade package is "nothing out of the world" and that the biggest advantage he will have is his knowledge of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with its single straightaway, which he hoped would reduce Mercedes ability to leverage its better overall speed. The race will be Ferraris second under new team principal Marco Mattiacci after he replaced Stefano Domenicali. Mattiacci, a former president of Ferrari North America but with no experience in F1, arrived to Shanghai in time to watch Alonso steer to a third-place finish. Alonso said Mattiacci was meeting with everyone on the team-- from drivers to engineers and crew members-- but needed time to learn the sport before he put his stamp on the Italian team. "At the moment everything is more or less the same," Alonso said. "Everything is calm, no big changes. In China, Marco arrived with little experience in motor racing and lots of experience on the management side, but he is listening and learning as much as he can. I dont think Marco wants to become an engineer, but he will need some time to settle down and make some decisions. "It is a good thing for Ferrari to move forward and past some historical mistakes." ' ' '