Match Report·16 March 2026·85d ago

Como Delivers a Crushing Blow

Source: GialloRossi.net

Roma suffered a painful 2-1 defeat to Como in a direct clash for fourth place, marking their tenth loss of the season. El Shaarawy earned a penalty that Malen converted to give Roma an early lead, but the team failed to build on it. Como equalized through Douvikas after a defensive lapse by Hermoso, and the match turned decisively when Wesley was sent off for a second yellow card that manager Gasperini described as a clear error. With Roma reduced to ten men, Como scored again to secure victory and inflict significant damage on Roma's Champions League aspirations.

The defeat drops Roma to sixth place, three points behind Como and two behind Juventus. The result is particularly frustrating given the potential advantage Roma squandered—the article references a previous 3-3 draw against Juventus at the Olimpico where a late goal cost Roma what could have been a seven-point cushion in the fourth-place race. Beyond the poor defensive organization and lack of offensive threat after going ahead, the performance highlighted Roma's current attacking crisis, with Malen being the primary scoring option. Gasperini's tactical adjustments proved ineffective given the limited resources available.

With Serie A tightening significantly, Roma now faces a critical Europa League round-of-16 second leg against Bologna at home in the coming days. The competition may represent Roma's most concrete path to European football if their domestic campaign continues to falter.

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Testo Originale / Source Text

Machine-scraped Italian — paste into Google Translate for a full read.

Un’altra sconfitta. La decima stagionale. Tante, forse troppe per ambire alla Champions. Ma questa è forse quella più pesante e dolorosa. La Roma cade 2-1 a Como nello scontro diretto per il quarto posto e vede complicarsi terribilmente il suo obiettivo. Il kappaò del Sinigaglia è l’ennesimo segnale di un momento che ormai è sotto gli occhi di tutti. La squadra di Gasperini non riesce più a vincere e la classifica, inevitabilmente, presenta il conto. Il paradosso è che la Roma aveva iniziato la gara nel modo migliore. Rigore conquistato da El Shaarawy e trasformato da Malen, vantaggio immediato e partita apparentemente in discesa. Ma è stato un fuoco di paglia. Dopo quel gol i giallorossi si sono praticamente spenti: affanno nel gestire e soprattutto nessuna pericolosità offensiva. Di fatto, da quel momento in poi, la Roma non ha più tirato in porta. Il Como è apparso decisamente più in forma. Più lucido, più coraggioso, più convinto. E nella ripresa ha trovato il modo di ribaltare la partita. Paradossalmente nel momento in cui la Roma sembrava aver ripreso il controllo della gara è arrivato l’episodio che ha cambiato il match: una disattenzione difensiva di Hermoso che ha spalancato la porta a Douvikas, bravo a sorprendere Svilar sul primo palo. Un gol che ha ridato fiducia ai lariani e tolto definitivamente certezze ai giallorossi. Ma il vero momento chiave della partita è stata l’espulsione di Wesley. Una decisione palesemente sbagliata dall’arbitro Massa: il secondo giallo al brasiliano per un presunto fallo su Diao non c’era. Il VAR non interviene e la Roma resta in dieci. A quel punto, con una squadra già in evidente difficoltà, la partita si è di fatto chiusa lì. LEGGI ANCHE – Gasperini: “L’espulsione di Wesley è un episodio pesante. Malen resta? Chiedetelo alla società…” Il Como ha sentito l’odore del sangue, ha alzato il ritmo e ha colpito ancora. Il 2-1 è la logica conseguenza di un’inerzia ormai tutta dalla parte dei padroni di casa. La Roma, invece, non ha avuto più la forza di reagire. I cambi di Gasperini non hanno spostato nulla e questo non sorprende più di tanto: l’emergenza offensiva è totale. Tolto Malen, la Roma oggi non ha più frecce nel proprio arco. Le contromosse del tecnico sono diventate tentativi obbligati più che soluzioni reali. Il risultato è una classifica che ora fa male. La Roma scivola al sesto posto, a tre lunghezze dal Como e a due dalla Juventus di Spalletti. E inevitabilmente torna alla mente quella notte dell’Olimpico contro i bianconeri, il famoso 3-3 incassato nel recupero. Quel gol di Gatti, arrivato quando la partita sembrava ormai vinta, è stata una vera sliding door della stagione. Da un potenziale +7 sulla Juventus, che avrebbe rappresentato un mattone pesantissimo nella corsa al quarto posto, la Roma si ritrova oggi a inseguire. Il campionato si è improvvisamente complicato, forse più del previsto. Non è ancora finita, ma la strada verso la Champions è diventata terribilmente in salita. Ecco perché, in questo momento, lo sguardo inevitabilmente si sposta sull’Europa. Giovedì all’Olimpico arriva il Bologna per il ritorno degli ottavi di Europa League. Una partita da dentro o fuori. E forse, alla luce di quello che sta succedendo in campionato, anche qualcosa di più: una porta da tenere spalancata. Perché se la Roma vuole continuare a inseguire quella Champions che da anni resta una chimera, potrebbe essere proprio l’Europa la strada più concreta per provarci davvero. Adesso non c’è più tempo per rimpianti. C’è solo da raccogliere i cocci e ripartire. Subito. LEGGI ANCHE – Como-Roma 2-1: le pagelle Giallorossi.net – Andrea Fiorini Vuoi essere sempre aggiornato sulle ultime notizie della Roma sul tuo cellulare? Iscriviti subito al canale Whatsapp di Giallorossi.net!

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