Dybala chases first European away goal in 1196 days as Roma return to Champions League

Roma have announced the start of public ticket sales for their Champions League match against Real Madrid on Wednesday, 14 October at 21:00 at the Stadio Olimpico. The fixture represents Matchday 2 of the league phase and marks the return of José Mourinho to the capital in his role as Real Madrid manager. Tickets go on sale on Tuesday, 8 September at 12:00, with each supporter able to purchase up to four tickets per transaction. This will be Roma's first home Champions League match in seven years, following their appearance against Porto on 12 February 2019 (a 2–1 Roma win). The match precedes Roma's opening Champions League fixture, scheduled for Thursday, 10 September at 18:45 away to Fenerbahce in Turkey. Real Madrid's squad includes Mbappé, Bellingham, Vinícius, Rodrygo and Arda Güler. All tickets will be issued exclusively in digital format, downloadable to the user's phone wallet or via the IL MIO POSTO app; no PDF file will be sent. Supporters holding 2026–27 Plus Cup subscriptions may access a resale service from 10:00 on Friday, 11 September 2026. The user-change service for individual tickets opens at 10:00 on Wednesday, 7 October. Ticket swaps for 2026–27 Cup subscribers are unavailable this season.

Roma return to the UEFA Champions League on Thursday at 18:45 with a trip to Istanbul to face Fenerbahce at Stadio Şükrü Saracoğlu. Spanish referee Jesús Gil Manzano will take charge of the match, with assistants Diego Barbero and Guadalupe Porras Ayuso. César Soto Grado handles VAR duties, with Valentín Gómez as AVAR and Juan Martínez Munuera as fourth official. Gil Manzano is not unfamiliar with Roma. His most distant previous encounter came on 7 November 2019, when he refereed Roma's 2–1 defeat away at Borussia Mönchengladbach. His more recent meeting came in a Europa League playoff return against Feyenoord, which Roma won on penalties, with Mile Svilar delivering a standout performance.

Spanish referee Jesús Gil Manzano has been appointed to officiate Roma's opening Champions League match against Fenerbahçe on Thursday at 18:45. Gil Manzano will be supported by assistants Diego Barbero and Guadalupe Porras Ayuso, with Juan Martínez Munuera serving as fourth official. Gil Manzano brings previous European experience against Roma. He previously oversaw their Europa League defeat to Borussia Mönchengladbach in the 2019–20 season, and refereed their Round of 16 second leg against Feyenoord in 2024, when Roma progressed on penalties.

Roma return to the Champions League for the first time in seven years when they travel to Istanbul to face Fenerbahce on Thursday evening. Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini will deploy a squad combining several players making their maiden appearance in the competition's main draw alongside seasoned European campaigners. Gianluca Mancini and Manu Koné will make their Champions League debuts, as will younger squad members including Pisilli, Lulli, Mora and Ghilardi. Gasperini can call on considerable experience to balance the newcomers. Paulo Dybala and Marten de Roon have accumulated nearly one hundred appearances between them at the highest level. Nahuel Molina and Mario Hermoso both bring over sixty European appearances from their time at Atlético Madrid, while Donyell Malen, Leonardo Balerdi and Artem Dovbyk add further continental pedigree. Dybala will lead the attack and is targeting a European goal; his last came in the Europa League final in Budapest against Seville. Roma will be supported by approximately 2,300 fans in the away section at the Turkish stadium. The domestic competition faces a ticketing restriction for the upcoming Serie A fixture against Torino: the CASMS has banned ticket sales to residents of Rome province due to potential clashes with Parma supporters travelling to Como, permitting purchases only to AS Roma Card holders from other Italian regions.

Matías Soulé is set to play a starring role in Roma's return to the Champions League as the club travel to face Fenerbahce. The Argentine forward's comeback comes on the back of a decisive display in the previous league fixture against Atalanta, marking his readiness to shine on the European stage four years after his debut in the competition with Juventus. Soulé's resurgence is the product of work undertaken with head coach Gian Piero Gasperini and Roma's restructured medical staff. The 2003-born forward arrived back this summer hampered by a troublesome groin injury and behind in his pre-season preparation, but worked hard during the training camp to regain peak condition. A transfer market saga saw Roma value him at €40 million in the face of interest from several Premier League clubs, while Gasperini considered the profile of Mason Greenwood for the right flank during early talks. Without official offers at that price and given Soulé's considerable commitment, he has been fully reinstated, with Gasperini certifying his complete physical and athletic recovery. In Istanbul, Roma will encounter both former Lazio striker Vedat Muriqi and Greenwood as opponents. For Soulé, the match represents the confirmation of a redemption arc that sees him restored to the heart of the capital club's tactical project, working in full harmony with teammate Paulo Dybala to deliver quality, unpredictability and high-level attacking solutions.

Roma return to the Champions League for the first time since March 2019 tonight in Istanbul against Fenerbahce, with Gasperini naming an unchanged side from Saturday's Serie A victory over Atalanta. Paulo Dybala, the 32-year-old Argentine absent from the competition for four and a half years since Juventus faced Villarreal in March 2022, will lead the team's attempt to translate the attacking form that has already impressed in Serie A wins over Fiorentina, Lecce and Atalanta. Dybala has played 253 minutes across Roma's opening three league fixtures under Gasperini's management. Nahuel Molina is the sole fresh name in the starting eleven after building his career in Europe with Atlético Madrid and the Argentine national team. The squad will draw on the experience of players for whom the Champions League anthem is familiar, with Svilar, Mancini, N'Dicka, Hermoso, Koné, Cristante, Wesley and Malen all named. Malen, who leads the Serie A scoring chart this season, will compete at elite European level for the first time in Roma colours. The night represents a transformation of nostalgia into present pride on the competition's stage, where Dybala has most thrived in his career.