Gasperini's Inter plan: the established core, Lulli's youth surge, and the competitive edge from Trigoria

Roma did not return to Rome after their 5-2 win over Udinese on Friday evening and instead spent the night in Friuli to prepare for their Champions League trip to Manchester United on Tuesday 3 November at Old Trafford. Gian Piero Gasperini's side trained this morning at Udinese's sports centre, as guests of the Bianconeri club. Players who featured the previous night completed a light recovery session, while the others did a more intense workout. Roma publicly thanked the Friulian club for its hospitality through a message on their social channels. The squad will travel to Trieste this afternoon and fly directly to Manchester without passing through Rome, a choice made to save energy and optimise timings in an increasingly congested calendar. Gasperini will hold his press conference tomorrow, followed by a training session on the Old Trafford pitch. Svilar, Koné and, barring a surprise, Dybala will all miss the trip to face Manchester United. Belgian goalkeeper Svilar is scheduled to return after the November international break, while there is greater hope for Koné and Dybala, the Argentine known as La Joya, ahead of the match against Sassuolo on 7 November. Timings are not yet certain, as Gasperini himself stressed after the Udine game, explaining that the week that has just begun will be decisive in assessing the condition of the injured players. Gasperini is considering several changes to the side that routed Udinese. Gianluca Mancini, who was on the bench on Friday, is set to return to the starting XI in defence. The main doubt concerns the number ten position, where Niccolò Pisilli could be preferred to Rodrigo Mora, who scored two goals in a row against Cagliari and Udinese. The switch would bring greater balance and intensity to a game that will also require close attention to defensive work. Soulé and Malen remain fixed starters, both having been substituted in the second half on Friday partly to conserve their energy. Roma go into the European fixture in the best form of the season, on the back of a run of convincing performances and a group that continues to respond despite heavy absences. Gasperini now seeks another test of maturity, this time on the Old Trafford stage, against a Manchester United side in difficulty but still dangerous because of the quality of their players.

Roma held a training session at Udinese's sports centre in Udine this morning, a day after their 5-0 win over the hosts, with the club thanking Udinese on social media for their hospitality. The squad trained in Udine, with those who played the previous day doing a recovery session while the others worked as a group. Dybala, Koné and Svilar are out. The Giallorossi are already looking ahead to Tuesday's UEFA Champions League fixture against Manchester United. The team fly to England this afternoon. Gasperini's press conference takes place tomorrow at 18:20 (Italian time), followed by the pre-match training session at 19:00. Around 3,000 Roma supporters are expected to fill the away end at Old Trafford.

Roma have gone five matches without Manu Koné and Paulo Dybala and have collected 13 points in that stretch, a record that shows the squad's depth under Gasperini. Bryan Cristante was also briefly absent, and the club have coped with the losses of several key players. The article notes that Pisilli, de Roon, Rodrigo Mora, Pellegrini and Castro started on the bench at times against the most reliable opponents, which it describes as a fact that applies to every team in the world. Gasperini has insisted that "they are all starters". Even with several important names unavailable, Roma have kept their level high. Koné and Dybala are described as perhaps the two best players in the squad alongside Svilar and Malen. Last season, the French and Argentine midfielder and forward were both missing together in 9 matches across Serie A and the Europa League, and Roma collected 13 points from 3 wins, 4 draws and 2 defeats. As of Sunday 1 November, the five matches without the pair have yielded 13 points against Genoa, Napoli, Cagliari, Udinese and Slovan Bratislava. That is an average of 2.6 points per game, compared with 1.44 in the earlier spell. Cristante was also out in two of those five games. Svilar has missed seven matches, and his injury marks the last time Roma fielded their full first-choice side, on 19 September, a 2-2 draw with Inter. The article credits the squad's improved maturity and quality, partly due to the summer work of D'Amico. It describes Pisilli as having a year more experience, de Roon as a professor with a titanium physique, and Soulé as back at top level. Rodrigo Mora is raising his standard, Gollini has regained confidence in his role after a long spell without playing, Lulli is a "terrible" young talent, and Balerdi often looks like a gladiator. The overall level of the team has risen considerably. After the international break, Gasperini is expected to have all his players available for the trip to Parma.

Roma have gone five matches without Manu Koné and Paulo Dybala and have collected 13 points in that stretch, a record that shows the squad's depth under Gasperini. Bryan Cristante was also briefly absent, and the club have coped with the losses of several key players. The article notes that Pisilli, de Roon, Rodrigo Mora, Pellegrini and Castro started on the bench at times against the most reliable opponents, which it describes as a fact that applies to every team in the world. Gasperini has insisted that "they are all starters". Even with several important names unavailable, Roma have kept their level high. Koné and Dybala are described as perhaps the two best players in the squad alongside Svilar and Malen. Last season, the French and Argentine midfielder and forward were both missing together in 9 matches across Serie A and the Europa League, and Roma collected 13 points from 3 wins, 4 draws and 2 defeats. As of Sunday 1 November, the five matches without the pair have yielded 13 points against Genoa, Napoli, Cagliari, Udinese and Slovan Bratislava. That is an average of 2.6 points per game, compared with 1.44 in the earlier spell. Cristante was also out in two of those five games. Svilar has missed seven matches, and his injury marks the last time Roma fielded their full first-choice side, on 19 September, a 2-2 draw with Inter. The article credits the squad's improved maturity and quality, partly due to the summer work of D'Amico. It describes Pisilli as having a year more experience, de Roon as a professor with a titanium physique, and Soulé as back at top level. Rodrigo Mora is raising his standard, Gollini has regained confidence in his role after a long spell without playing, Lulli is a "terrible" young talent, and Balerdi often looks like a gladiator. The overall level of the team has risen considerably. After the international break, Gasperini is expected to have all his players available for the trip to Parma.

Roma have scored 28 goals in their first ten Serie A matches of 2026-27, a new club record for the competition that eclipses the 26 scored in the opening ten rounds of 1960/61 and 2016/17. The record came after a 5-0 win away at Udinese, the most recent game, and no Roma side had scored more in that early stretch of a league season. The average is 2.8 goals per match, a pace that, projected over the whole campaign, would mean more than 100 goals. The article stresses that this is a simple mathematical projection, but it shows the scale of the change under Gian Piero Gasperini. The record has come despite a run of closely spaced fixtures and heavy absences, starting with Paulo Dybala and Manu Koné. Donyell Malen remains the most recognisable name in attack, with his ability to run in behind, move constantly and turn harmless-looking balls into chances. However, the article argues that focusing on his goals misses the real secret of this Roma side. Gasperini has built a team in which scoring is no longer the responsibility of the strikers alone. It has become a collective task, open to anyone who can find the right space. The clearest example came in Udine, where five different players scored: Bryan Cristante, Mora, Malen, Evan N'Dicka and Daniele Ghilardi. A midfielder, an attacking midfielder, a striker and two defenders, each scoring in a different way, from close-range finishing and runs into the box to a header and a quick, constructed move. The article notes that this was not an isolated case, as Pisilli, Lulli, Soulé, Koné and Balerdi had also scored in the preceding weeks. Roma score so often, it says, because they get many players into the decisive areas of the pitch. Gasperini underlined the point after the Udinese game: "We are scoring more goals and with more players. This is a great sign." The coach has identified the growing confidence of the group as one of the main reasons for this development. Scoring is not only a matter of technique or systems but also of conviction. When a player starts to believe he can be decisive, the way he attacks the box, looks for a shot and takes responsibility changes. The article also highlights the progress of players who until a few weeks ago looked like simple alternatives. Mora has started to find more consistency in front of goal, Ghilardi is becoming a useful option from set pieces, and Cristante, against Udinese, produced an outstanding performance, combining a goal with an assist. The rotations, the article says, are not weakening the attacking play but multiplying the solutions available to the coach. The article is not blind to the defensive side. Roma have already conceded ten goals in Serie A and, in recent matches, have shown some lapses in concentration that could prove costly against stronger opponents. The definitive step up, it argues, will also depend on the ability to keep balance when the team attacks with many players, an aspect Gasperini knows well and on which he will have to keep working. The piece concludes that the 28 goals in ten matches, a historic record, show a side that finds the net with remarkable ease and a group in which individual talent is enhanced by an increasingly recognisable collective identity. Its closing line suggests that the true record may be building a Roma in which everyone feels capable of scoring.

Roma turned Halloween night into a show of force, beating Udinese 5-2 and extending their lead at the top of the table, with five different goalscorers ahead of the Champions League trip to Manchester. The match was effectively decided in the first ten minutes. Bryan Cristante headed Roma in front from Wesley's fine cross, with Udinese goalkeeper Okoye far from faultless, and the hosts' resistance collapsed from there. In the first half Roma created chances with ease and hit the woodwork twice, through Soulé and Malen, before a burst of goals settled the contest. Mora, Malen and Ndicka all scored, giving Roma four goals in the first 37 minutes. Mora, who scored in the first half, confirmed he can be decisive even when starting from the first minute, Malen kept scoring with striking regularity, and Soulé produced tricks and assists. Cristante was outstanding, scoring, providing the assist for Mora and making constant runs, and was probably the best player on the pitch. Only days earlier he had looked among the players struggling with the demands of a punishing schedule. Marten de Roon provided balance and composure in midfield, and both men passed a test many had feared they would fail against a physical Udinese side. The only blemish came after the break, when Roma conceded too easily in the opening minutes of the second half, allowing Zaniolo to reduce the deficit. Palma later made it 4-2, but Udinese never looked capable of completing a comeback. Gasperini began managing his players and his energy, understandably, with a Champions League match at Old Trafford to come. Ghilardi was rewarded for another convincing performance by scoring the decisive 5-2 with a powerful right-foot strike, set up by a pass from Santiago Castro. Five goals from five different scorers was, in the writer's view, the most encouraging statistic of the evening. Roma have now scored 28 goals in ten league matches. Gasperini was credited with the team's mentality as much as its football. The writer argued the side increasingly reflects his ideas, with Mora, Ghilardi, Balerdi and Cristante all stepping up in turn while the coach keeps rotating his players. When Gasperini said after the match that he sees himself in this team, it was described as one of the most significant remarks of the season. The article also highlighted one area for improvement: the gap between Malen and Castro in attack. Malen gives depth, constantly attacks goal and turns harmless balls into chances, while Castro, despite a fine assist for Ghilardi's goal, looks less influential. The writer hopes Gasperini can also get the best out of Castro, so that Roma can lose Malen without losing much of their threat. The next major test is Manchester, against an opponent that will not offer the same freedoms Udinese did. Roma face that Champions League fixture at Old Trafford next, on Tuesday.

Roma have scored 28 goals this season from 12 different scorers, and Gian Piero Gasperini's side now have the best attack in Serie A. Donyell Malen leads the way with eight goals, while the other 20 have been shared among 11 team-mates. The list stretches from Bryan Cristante to Daniele Ghilardi, passing through Rodrigo Mora and Evan N'Dicka. The offensive machine has rewritten a club record that had stood since 1960.

Roma have scored 28 goals in their first ten Serie A matches of 2026-27, a new club record for the competition that eclipses the 26 scored in the opening ten rounds of 1960/61 and 2016/17. The record came after a 5-0 win away at Udinese, the most recent game, and no Roma side had scored more in that early stretch of a league season. The average is 2.8 goals per match, a pace that, projected over the whole campaign, would mean more than 100 goals. The article stresses that this is a simple mathematical projection, but it shows the scale of the change under Gian Piero Gasperini. The record has come despite a run of closely spaced fixtures and heavy absences, starting with Paulo Dybala and Manu Koné. Donyell Malen remains the most recognisable name in attack, with his ability to run in behind, move constantly and turn harmless-looking balls into chances. However, the article argues that focusing on his goals misses the real secret of this Roma side. Gasperini has built a team in which scoring is no longer the responsibility of the strikers alone. It has become a collective task, open to anyone who can find the right space. The clearest example came in Udine, where five different players scored: Bryan Cristante, Mora, Malen, Evan N'Dicka and Daniele Ghilardi. A midfielder, an attacking midfielder, a striker and two defenders, each scoring in a different way, from close-range finishing and runs into the box to a header and a quick, constructed move. The article notes that this was not an isolated case, as Pisilli, Lulli, Soulé, Koné and Balerdi had also scored in the preceding weeks. Roma score so often, it says, because they get many players into the decisive areas of the pitch. Gasperini underlined the point after the Udinese game: "We are scoring more goals and with more players. This is a great sign." The coach has identified the growing confidence of the group as one of the main reasons for this development. Scoring is not only a matter of technique or systems but also of conviction. When a player starts to believe he can be decisive, the way he attacks the box, looks for a shot and takes responsibility changes. The article also highlights the progress of players who until a few weeks ago looked like simple alternatives. Mora has started to find more consistency in front of goal, Ghilardi is becoming a useful option from set pieces, and Cristante, against Udinese, produced an outstanding performance, combining a goal with an assist. The rotations, the article says, are not weakening the attacking play but multiplying the solutions available to the coach. The article is not blind to the defensive side. Roma have already conceded ten goals in Serie A and, in recent matches, have shown some lapses in concentration that could prove costly against stronger opponents. The definitive step up, it argues, will also depend on the ability to keep balance when the team attacks with many players, an aspect Gasperini knows well and on which he will have to keep working. The piece concludes that the 28 goals in ten matches, a historic record, show a side that finds the net with remarkable ease and a group in which individual talent is enhanced by an increasingly recognisable collective identity. Its closing line suggests that the true record may be building a Roma in which everyone feels capable of scoring.

Roma routed Udinese at the Bluenergy Stadium with an authoritative performance that left Runjaic's side well beaten, and the Italian sports dailies rewarded almost the entire squad with high marks. Molina was the exception, rated among the least impressive players on the Friulian side. In the ratings from Corriere dello Sport, Cristante earned an 8, the highest mark on the Roma side, while Ghilardi and N'Dicka both received 7.5. Mora and Soulé were also given 7.5, and Malen 7.5, with Gasperini awarded 7.5 as coach. Il Messaggero, Corriere della Sera, La Repubblica and Tuttosport all also gave Cristante an 8 or 7.5 and Ghilardi and N'Dicka solid marks of 6.5 to 7, with Mora and Malen praised in several papers. Molina was marked 6 by most dailies, and 6.5 by La Repubblica, while Wesley's ratings ranged from 6 to 7. Gasperini received 7.5 from most papers, and 7 from Tuttosport. Gollini, Hermoso and De Roon were rated more moderately, with Gollini getting a 6 across the board. Substitutes were also assessed. Pisilli came on for Mora and was given 6.5 by Corriere dello Sport and 6 by the other papers, while Castro was rated 6.5 or 6 after replacing Malen. Mancini's cameo earned a 6 from Il Messaggero and Tuttosport, and Koulierakis and Rensch were left unrated.

Donyell Malen's scoring run continues, with his goal on Sunday taking him to 22 in 27 matches, more than any other player in the top five European leagues and ahead of Harry Kane, the newly crowned Ballon d'Or winner. Yet Roma's 24 points from 10 matches owe more than that to the Dutchman alone, as he has failed to score in five of the club's league games, roughly half of them. Others have stepped up, including players Gasperini and others had expected more from compared with last season, and the coach has been satisfied so far. The two starters on Sunday, Rodrigo Mora and Matías Soulé, were central to the win. Mora, who is Portuguese and a former Porto youngster, scored his first goal while starting a match and has been taking on an increasingly important role. In 59 minutes he completed 85% of his passes, won back 6 balls, created a big chance and completed 100% of his dribbles. Those numbers, together with two goals in five days, are clear signs of growth that is pleasing everyone, especially with Paulo Dybala currently out. Soulé has done the most to drive the team forward, returning from the physical problems that had limited him for months. The difference is clear: the Argentine has been involved in 8 goals in 13 matches, with 3 goals and 5 assists, while Malen has been involved in 14 goals overall. With Ndicka and Ghilardi, 14 different players have now scored since the start of the season, a true goalscoring cooperative. Some heavyweight names are still missing from the scoresheet, including Wesley, Mancini, Pellegrini and above all Dybala. Even so, all of these players, each in his own role, have a clear feel for goal, and that will only add to the firepower of a Roma side full of scorers.

Roma routed Udinese at the Bluenergy Stadium with an authoritative performance that left Runjaic's side well beaten, and the Italian sports dailies rewarded almost the entire squad with high marks. Molina was the exception, rated among the least impressive players on the Friulian side. In the ratings from Corriere dello Sport, Cristante earned an 8, the highest mark on the Roma side, while Ghilardi and N'Dicka both received 7.5. Mora and Soulé were also given 7.5, and Malen 7.5, with Gasperini awarded 7.5 as coach. Il Messaggero, Corriere della Sera, La Repubblica and Tuttosport all also gave Cristante an 8 or 7.5 and Ghilardi and N'Dicka solid marks of 6.5 to 7, with Mora and Malen praised in several papers. Molina was marked 6 by most dailies, and 6.5 by La Repubblica, while Wesley's ratings ranged from 6 to 7. Gasperini received 7.5 from most papers, and 7 from Tuttosport. Gollini, Hermoso and De Roon were rated more moderately, with Gollini getting a 6 across the board. Substitutes were also assessed. Pisilli came on for Mora and was given 6.5 by Corriere dello Sport and 6 by the other papers, while Castro was rated 6.5 or 6 after replacing Malen. Mancini's cameo earned a 6 from Il Messaggero and Tuttosport, and Koulierakis and Rensch were left unrated.

Roma routed Udinese at the Bluenergy Stadium, with Ghilardi adding his name to the list of scorers in the eighth match in twenty days, a sign of a side that spreads its goals across the squad. Gasperini's team, lining up in their usual 3-4-2-1, were far too strong for an Udinese side on a sixth consecutive defeat and struggling badly for both results and performance. The win also brings a small record: 28 goals in the first 10 rounds of Serie A, which shifts the focus onto Roma's attack, even though until two matches ago they had boasted the best defence in Europe. Runjaić set his Udinese side up in a 5-3-2, with Ekkelenkamp as the anchor man. Roma controlled the game from the start, with Cristante and De Roon dropping in turn to build alongside Ndicka, the two wing-backs pushing wide, and Wesley and Molina pushing into attack. The left-hand channel of Mora and Wesley, with Hermoso in support, was especially active, and Roma found space mainly out wide. Possession, however, did not initially produce many chances. Roma were slow to move the ball, allowing Udinese's physical approach to disrupt their build-up. Their problem was failing to recognise the need to speed up circulation, playing quick two-touch combinations to cut down the time Udinese had to press and avoiding the physical duels that slowed or muddied the game. Once Roma raised the tempo, they moved the ball from right to left and found Wesley, whose cross reached Cristante at the centre of the box to open the scoring. The first two goals, which settled the match, came from faster ball movement and two deadly runs by Cristante into the box: the first with him as the direct scorer, the second as the provider of an assist for Mora. With both sides lined up in mirror image, switches of play became less useful, making it essential to work well in the areas around the ball, move it quickly and keep avoiding physical duels. Wesley and Malen were still caught out by this, with Kabasele closing them down in a series of tight physical challenges. Roma kept up their pace after going two goals ahead, forced Udinese into errors and hit two posts through mistimed efforts by Soulé and Malen. Malen then made amends, escaping Kabasele to make it 3-0. Ndicka added the fourth with a header that was not especially convincing, at the stadium where he had previously endured a difficult time, with Okoye again looking uncertain, as he had on the first goal. It was 4-0 after 33 minutes of ruthless finishing from a big side against an Udinese team whose league position speaks for itself. Gollini, who has been flawless in Serie A so far, twice stopped sporadic counter-attacks by the hosts before half-time. The second half was important for managing energy ahead of the trip to Manchester. Gasperini made no changes at the restart, avoiding sending the message that the match was over and that it should not be played out in full. Roma continued to move the ball quickly while keeping possession and exploiting the space available. From a corner won by Udinese, the same pattern as in the first half saw Miller given room to shoot from distance after De Roon had moved away to pick up a pointless run inside the box; Ndicka and his team were slow to react to the short rebound from Gollini, and Udinese pulled one back to 1-4. After an hour Chakvetadze and Unay Gómez came on for Davis and Ekkelenkamp. Runjaić stayed with a 3-5-2, to which Gasperini responded by bringing on Pisilli as anchor man in place of Mora and Castro for Malen. Late on came a series of changes: Piotrowski replaced Zaniolo, Mancini and Rensch came on for Wesley and Soulé, with Ghilardi pushing up as fifth man on the right and Molina high ahead of him. In the final minutes a late lapse by Roma from an Udinese corner allowed Palma to reduce the deficit further. Jovanovic and Arizala came on for Karlström and Kamara, giving Runjaić a breather as he watched his side respond, and Koulierakis replaced Hermoso. Ghilardi had the last word, collecting a delightful, soft assist from Castro to fire home his first Serie A goal, the same technical touch with which he had already made his mark in the Champions League.