Gasperini starts young Lulli ahead of Molina against Fiorentina

Donyell Malen scored a hat-trick as Roma demolished Fiorentina 4–0, with the Dutch winger later captured in a video posted by his wife Delisha performing as a DJ to celebrate the result. Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini praised the performance across the squad. In his post-match comments, Gasperini said: "Mora is extraordinary. Dybala is a beast. We need a few more reinforcements." Paulo Dybala also spoke after the match, stating: "We can finish higher than third place. I never had doubts about the contract renewal." Malen added: "Playing with Dybala is extraordinary. I don't want to say how many goals I'll score." The emphatic victory showcased Roma's attacking threat, with Dybala operating at his sharpest alongside Malen's match-winning display.

Roma opened their 2026-27 season with a commanding 3-0 victory over Fiorentina, with Donyell Malen scoring a hat-trick and Paulo Dybala providing three assists. Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini saw encouraging debuts from Rodrigo Mora, Konstantinos Koulierakis and Santiago Castro. With a trip to Lecce at the Via del Mare scheduled for Monday 31 August at 18:30, Gasperini has given the squad a day's rest. Training will resume on Wednesday afternoon at Trigoria, ahead of the next fixture.

Roma have completed the signing of Oosterwolde on a paid loan with an option to buy. The deal is structured at €16 million plus €2 million in add-ons. The player is due to land tomorrow morning at 11:35.

Gian Piero Gasperini praised Roma's mentality and attacking prowess after a 4-0 victory over Fiorentina on 24 August, singling out Paulo Dybala and Donyell Malen as world-class talent and calling for further recruitment to strengthen the squad for a demanding fixture schedule. Speaking to DAZN, Gasperini said: "The mentality of this group. These boys have recommenced as it was last season. We carry more knowledge. Their attitude in the match and in training is extraordinary. There are players who have done everything to play at Roma or remain: Dybala, Pellegrini, also Mora with his agent. They feel the beauty of this environment." Gasperini highlighted Dybala's physical condition at 32 years old as crucial to the club's ambitions. "Absolutely yes. He is a boy who at 32 is in the fullness of maturity. He may have less speed, but not much, and less force in the shot. He is among the very first in our league, if not the first." He noted that Dybala suffered misfortune last season with injuries from a penalty kick and a free kick that cost him a meniscus, but has made an "absolute level" preparation and is now more resilient. Gasperini withdrew him during the match because other important players were available, "but he can play even extra time." On the Dybala-Malen partnership, Gasperini declared: "They are of European level, therefore World level. Dybala has always been so, he only had too many injuries. This one is a beast: anything but silk muscles as someone said. He can even play extra time. Malen is extraordinary, but it is not by chance: he feels appreciated and strong, he is a leader on the pitch and can grow further still." Gasperini stressed that Roma's recruitment remains incomplete despite the convincing display. "We are not done. If you look at the calendar after the international break there is something to shudder at. It is absolutely necessary to have some numbers more, not too many, to face the season with the league, Champions League and Coppa Italia. With this risk we know there is the risk of losing players in the same period." He praised recent arrivals Konstantinos Koulierakis, Nahuel Molina, Santiago Castro, and Rodrigo Mora for fitting into the team's structure, noting that the group has a foundation built over the past year and new arrivals are functional. He also commended the new Serie A rule extending effective playing time, saying: "Beautiful, fantastic. I like it very much. The public is advantaged this way: before it saw matches of deadly boredom, with the goalkeeper touching more balls than everyone else. These are excellent rules: no one now stays on the ground more. They were thought out very well, the public wants to see play and not waste time."

Donyell Malen and Paulo Dybala spoke to DAZN after Roma's latest fixture, with the pair highlighting their early understanding on the pitch. In seven matches together, Malen has scored six goals and Dybala has provided six assists. When asked about reports that Gasperini said he returned sad from the World Cup, Malen responded: "I'm happy to be back, what's done is done. Now we've started again and I felt the energy of the stadium." Asked about matching his tally of 14 goals in half a season last year, Malen said: "I don't want to give numbers. I have to create goal-scoring chances, then we'll see." Dybala offered effusive praise for his young teammate. "We're facing an extraordinary talent," Dybala told DAZN. "At 19 he's already completed two campaigns, winning as well. Two years ago he scored 10 goals. He's a boy in evolution, also in the personality with which he played tonight. He's had a bit of physical decline too, which is normal. Every time he touches the ball something beautiful happens. He's resilient, he has elite athletic values. He can play on the right and left. He has football, real talent. There's work to do with him too, clearly—it's been a week he's been here. He'll give us great satisfaction." On the group's mentality, Dybala said: "The attitude of these boys is extraordinary. They've started again as they did last season. We carry more knowledge with us. Their attitude in matches and training is extraordinary. There are players who've done everything to play for Roma or stay: Dybala, Pellegrini, also Mora with his agent. They feel the beauty of this environment." Gasperini stressed Dybala's physical condition is key, noting: "At 32 he's in the fullness of maturity. He may have less speed, not much, and less shooting power. He's among the very first in our league, if not the first. Last year he was very unlucky. He had an injury kicking a penalty and one on a free kick. It cost him a meniscus, the penalty. But he's done absolute-level preparation. He's not made of silk, he's increasingly resilient. I took him off because we have other important players but he can play extra time too." Gasperini acknowledged Roma's squad remains incomplete despite the strong performance. "We've put the right players in the right places this year, like Koulierakis and Molina, who has an important past, Castro, Mora. But we haven't completed," he said. "If you look at the calendar after the international break there's reason to shiver. It's absolutely necessary to have some additional numbers, not too many, to face the season with the league, Champions and Coppa Italia. Knowing this risk, we know there's the risk of losing players in the same period."

Donyell Malen scored a hat-trick as AS Roma won their Serie A opener against Fiorentina on Monday night—a historic first for the club to begin their league campaign on a Monday. Gian Piero Gasperini, managing Roma, marked the start of his twentieth season in Serie A with a managerial position, an achievement reached previously only by Carlo Mazzone (28 seasons), Nereo Rocco (24), Nils Liedholm (23), Giovanni Trapattoni (23), and Luigi Radice (20). Bryan Cristante delivered a near-perfect midfield performance, Wesley showed his customary commitment on the flanks, and Paulo Dybala appeared in scintillating form, reaching his 100th Serie A appearance for Roma. Dybala extended his run to four consecutive league matches with a decisive contribution, amassing 5 assists during that spell. Malen dominated the match with five shots—more than any player from either side—and claimed top spot in Serie A's scoring chart. His record is striking: 17 goals in 19 Serie A appearances, surpassing Gabriel Omar Batistuta's previous Roma record of 15 goals in the first 20 games of the three-points-for-a-win era. The victory extended Roma's winning streak to six consecutive Serie A matches, all decided by at least two goals, with five clean sheets during that run. The last longer winning streak came in February–March 2025 under Claudio Ranieri, when Roma won seven in a row. Roma's recent record in season openers is formidable: in their last 15 opening-day fixtures, they have lost just once (a 3–0 away to Verona in 2020), winning 8 and drawing 5. Against Fiorentina specifically, Roma have now won three times at the start of seasons, including victories in 2014 and 2021. On 4 May this year, Roma had defeated Fiorentina by four goals—the first such margin in Serie A since Luciano Spalletti's 4–0 in 2017. With this latest win, Roma stretched their run of consecutive Serie A matches with a goal to 16. The squad's average age sits at approximately 24.8 years against a Serie A average of 25.6, making Roma the subject of the most significant youth restructuring among Italy's big clubs—roughly three years younger than Inter and Napoli, and fresher than Milan and Lazio. The signing of Oosterwolde (24) is imminent and will reinforce this trend. Looking at potential starters—Svilar, Wesley, Rensch, Koulierakis, Koné, Pisilli, Soulé, Castro, and Mora—Gasperini may manage one of the youngest Roma squads of the past decade. The youth project was on full display against Fiorentina. Eighteen-year-old Rodrigo Mora, the main youth prospect in the starting eleven, had a shot on target at the 19th minute. Niccolò Pisilli (born 2004) came off the bench to score the fourth goal. The real surprise was the selection of 19-year-old Emanuele Lulli (born 2007), who impressed in Roma's Primavera setup and was aggregated to the first team for the summer retreat. He provided an assist for Paulo Dybala in the friendly against Cardiff before starting in place of Nahuel Molina. The sight of two players from the 2006–2007 generations operating with composure on opening night underscores a club intent on winning while building for the future, guided by Gasperini's experience and the hunger of its young talents.