Banfi: Roma will need their best performance in the Champions League

Roma came from behind to earn a point at Napoli's Maradona stadium, with the Argentines at the centre of the story. Soulé produced the first moment of quality, before Balerdi scored a brace to rescue the draw. Afterwards, Santiago Castro, who came on after the break, shared his reaction on social media. He wrote: "A great demonstration of character from the whole team, let's keep going like this always." The post drew a playful response from Leonardo, who replied: "Thanks for the assist" and added a nose emoji. The joke refers to Balerdi's second goal, which came from a fortunate touch of the face by Castro. The exchange offered a lighter moment for Roma's Argentine contingent after a hard-fought result on the road. The comeback was built on Soulé's goal and Balerdi's two strikes, with Castro's contribution in the second half adding to the good mood in the camp.

Massimiliano Allegri was sent off shortly after Leonardo Balerdi scored for Roma, and the Milan coach's outburst has angered the Giallorossi. Allegri took off his jacket, was shown a red card, and then spoke at his post-match press conference. "Why was I sent off? Because I kept quiet," he said. "The fine will come anyway, and we'll do charity again this time." The real controversy came from remarks made with the microphones off. Journalists in the press room at the Maradona heard Allegri shout: "Last year they put the Champions League in their pocket. It's always them..." His comments referred to last season's Champions League race, which ended with Roma third in the table and Milan in the Europa League, below Como and Roma. Roma's club is stunned and irritated by Allegri's words. The club considers the attack inappropriate, because the Champions League place was won on the pitch and not through alleged refereeing favours. Milan only needed a home win against Cagliari, who were already safe, to secure qualification for Europe's premier competition.

AS Roma have announced that the AS Roma Store on Via del Corso, one of the club's official shops in the heart of Rome, will be closed for the whole of today, Saturday 24 October. The club made the announcement directly, asking fans to visit the club's other official stores around the city to buy shirts and other Roma products. The closure affects only the Via del Corso shop in the historic centre. The other official Roma outlets in the city remain open for supporters looking to make their purchases, according to the club's message. Posting on its official X profile, Roma wrote: "Oggi l'AS Roma Store di Via del Corso rimarrà chiuso. Vi aspettiamo comunque negli altri punti vendita ufficiali della città per i vostri acquisti giallorossi!" The club did not give a reason for the closure.

Gian Piero Gasperini has spoken to Dazn ahead of Roma's match against Napoli, praising Bryan Cristante's return as an important boost for the squad. Roma have lost Lorenzo Pellegrini, but Gasperini says Cristante's value to the team is significant. Gasperini described the fixture as a match between sides of quality, adding: "Napoli-Roma is a match between teams of quality. They are two of the best in the league, it is an important game." Cristante is a key return, and the coach explained the reasoning behind his impact on the side. Gasperini said: "Yes, because in that area we have often played with the same men. His value is important. It makes the team more versatile, we can play him in the deeper midfield role. It gives us the chance to have variations." Asked how much the match could shape the season, he said: "It is difficult to say now, but if we win today it is a further step in awareness. It would be a great boost."

Napoli beat Roma 2-1 at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in Serie A's eighth round, with Anguissa and McTominay scoring for the hosts and Matías Soulé pulling one back for Roma. Gian Piero Gasperini's side were without Mile Svilar, Manu Koné, Paulo Dybala and Lorenzo Pellegrini. Gasperini did, however, have Bryan Cristante back in the starting XI and Donyell Malen available again after serving a one-match suspension. Massimiliano Allegri started Højlund, supported by Politano and Lang, while Rrahmani was ruled out by flu and did not make the bench. Roma's starting line-up was Gollini; Mancini, N'Dicka, Hermoso; Rensch, De Roon, Pisilli, Wesley; Cristante; Soulé, Malen. Rensch lined up at right-back, and Cristante was pushed further forward, with Pisilli alongside him in midfield. Napoli: Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rafa Marin, Badiashile, Olivera; Anguissa, De Bruyne, McTominay; Politano, Højlund, Lang. Colombo of Como refereed, with Bindoni-Rossi M. and Sacchi J.L. as assistants, Aureliano on VAR and Meraviglia as VAR assistant. Rafa Marin was booked after three minutes for a heavy challenge on Wesley, and Cristante and Rensch were also cautioned, in the 28th and 45th minutes. Roma had early chances through Soulé, who fired a left-footed effort wide in the 8th minute, and Cristante, whose powerful right foot struck the outside of the net in the 20th minute. Malen went close from the edge of the box in the 24th minute, when Meret saved with his foot. Gollini kept Roma in the game with a pair of saves, first rushing out to deny De Bruyne in the 34th minute and then stopping Olivera at close range in the 43rd. Cristante hit the left-hand post with a header in the 44th minute. Hermoso had a shooting chance in the 37th minute that was deflected wide. Napoli took the lead in the 27th minute when Anguissa scored with an overhead kick in the Roma area, although Gollini was unable to do anything. The move had started from a free kick that appeared to have no foul on De Bruyne. Before half-time Malen wasted a good opening for Roma. Napoli doubled their lead in the 47th minute, when Politano's right-wing cross was headed in by McTominay, who got ahead of Rensch. Gollini then made a save to deny Politano in the 56th minute, after Wesley had lost possession. Badiashile limped off with an injury in the 51st minute and was replaced by Beukema. Roma made three changes in the 58th minute, bringing on Molina, Balerdi and Castro for Rensch, Pisilli and Hermoso. Napoli also made a substitution in the 65th minute, with Giovane replacing Politano. Soulé reduced the deficit in the 69th minute with a left-footed strike from a tight angle, set up by Malen, to make it 2-1. Napoli held on to take the three points.

Roma face Napoli at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in the eighth round of Serie A, with the official line-ups now confirmed and Bryan Cristante starting from the first minute alongside Matías Soulé. Gian Piero Gasperini's side are up against a Napoli team coached by Massimiliano Allegri. The match is refereed by Andrea Colombo of the Como section. Roma arrive fresh from a Champions League win, but they are dealing with injury problems in the attacking midfield zone, with Lorenzo Pellegrini and Paulo Dybala both ruled out. The giallorossi are looking to take important points as they continue their push towards the top of the table. Romanews.eu is providing live coverage of the match with real-time updates throughout the game.

Leonardo Balerdi scored twice off the bench as Roma came back to draw 3-3 at Napoli's Stadio Maradona on Saturday afternoon, the last day of daylight saving time in 2026. The defender's second goal came in the 89th minute and salvaged a result that looked lost. The match was a six-goal, end-to-end contest that the Italian commentary describes as chaotic yet disciplined, and it left Roma with a sense of growing maturity. The brace is notable beyond the scoreline. The article recalls that the last Roma player to score two goals in a match at Napoli was Agostino Di Bartolomei, who netted a double in a 5-2 win on 20 February 1983, when Roma were chasing the Scudetto. The statistic has been dormant for more than four decades. The Italian writer frames the result as a test of character for Gasperini's side, which played without Paulo Dybala, a significant absence on the day. Roma were two goals down early on, struggling with a poor start in which clarity seemed to be missing. Roma's response after going 3-2 down was the key point of the article. McTominay scored the goal that appeared to settle the match, and the writer argues that this was the moment Roma should have collapsed. Instead, the players kept their shape and their patience, and the bench provided energy. The article says neither side can feel entirely satisfied. Napoli could regret failing to protect their lead twice, while Roma could look back on the opening hour as poor. Still, the writer says Roma left with the lesson that the team can absorb blows without losing its balance. The piece closes with the image of a team that looked into the abyss, remembered who it was, and chose to rewrite the story, with the feet of a defender and the head of a great side.

Napoli beat Roma 2-1 at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in Serie A's eighth round, with Anguissa and McTominay scoring for the hosts and Matías Soulé pulling one back for Roma. Gian Piero Gasperini's side were without Mile Svilar, Manu Koné, Paulo Dybala and Lorenzo Pellegrini. Gasperini did, however, have Bryan Cristante back in the starting XI and Donyell Malen available again after serving a one-match suspension. Massimiliano Allegri started Højlund, supported by Politano and Lang, while Rrahmani was ruled out by flu and did not make the bench. Roma's starting line-up was Gollini; Mancini, N'Dicka, Hermoso; Rensch, De Roon, Pisilli, Wesley; Cristante; Soulé, Malen. Rensch lined up at right-back, and Cristante was pushed further forward, with Pisilli alongside him in midfield. Napoli: Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rafa Marin, Badiashile, Olivera; Anguissa, De Bruyne, McTominay; Politano, Højlund, Lang. Colombo of Como refereed, with Bindoni-Rossi M. and Sacchi J.L. as assistants, Aureliano on VAR and Meraviglia as VAR assistant. Rafa Marin was booked after three minutes for a heavy challenge on Wesley, and Cristante and Rensch were also cautioned, in the 28th and 45th minutes. Roma had early chances through Soulé, who fired a left-footed effort wide in the 8th minute, and Cristante, whose powerful right foot struck the outside of the net in the 20th minute. Malen went close from the edge of the box in the 24th minute, when Meret saved with his foot. Gollini kept Roma in the game with a pair of saves, first rushing out to deny De Bruyne in the 34th minute and then stopping Olivera at close range in the 43rd. Cristante hit the left-hand post with a header in the 44th minute. Hermoso had a shooting chance in the 37th minute that was deflected wide. Napoli took the lead in the 27th minute when Anguissa scored with an overhead kick in the Roma area, although Gollini was unable to do anything. The move had started from a free kick that appeared to have no foul on De Bruyne. Before half-time Malen wasted a good opening for Roma. Napoli doubled their lead in the 47th minute, when Politano's right-wing cross was headed in by McTominay, who got ahead of Rensch. Gollini then made a save to deny Politano in the 56th minute, after Wesley had lost possession. Badiashile limped off with an injury in the 51st minute and was replaced by Beukema. Roma made three changes in the 58th minute, bringing on Molina, Balerdi and Castro for Rensch, Pisilli and Hermoso. Napoli also made a substitution in the 65th minute, with Giovane replacing Politano. Soulé reduced the deficit in the 69th minute with a left-footed strike from a tight angle, set up by Malen, to make it 2-1. Napoli held on to take the three points.

Roma face Napoli at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in the eighth round of Serie A, with the official line-ups now confirmed and Bryan Cristante starting from the first minute alongside Matías Soulé. Gian Piero Gasperini's side are up against a Napoli team coached by Massimiliano Allegri. The match is refereed by Andrea Colombo of the Como section. Roma arrive fresh from a Champions League win, but they are dealing with injury problems in the attacking midfield zone, with Lorenzo Pellegrini and Paulo Dybala both ruled out. The giallorossi are looking to take important points as they continue their push towards the top of the table. Romanews.eu is providing live coverage of the match with real-time updates throughout the game.