How Roma took flight: Balerdi and Molina replace Tsimikas and Ziolkowski

Gian Piero Gasperini has no fully fit options for Roma's trip to Friuli, and Donyell Malen and Rodrigo Mora are set to start in Udine. Mora is due to play alongside Matías Soulé, who is positioned behind the centre-forward. Paulo Dybala's return from the international break remains a question mark. Soulé's recovery time from his injury risks stretching out. The absences leave Gasperini with a thinner squad for the away fixture at Udinese in Friuli, and the coach is weighing up whether Dybala can return straight after the break. Roma's trip to Udine comes as the club looks to keep its form on the road in Serie A.

Gian Piero Gasperini has released his squad list for Udinese vs Roma, a Serie A matchday 10 fixture taking place tomorrow at 18:00. Paulo Dybala is ruled out of the trip. The squad is made up of ten defenders: Rensch, Koulierakis, N'Dicka, Molina, Hermoso, Mancini, Balerdi, Wesley, Lulli and Ghilardi. The midfield options are Cristante, De Roon, Pisilli, Di Nunzio and Mora. The attacking group includes Castro, Malen, Soulé and Camara. Di Nunzio and Camara both feature in the travelling party, with Dybala the only notable absence from the list. The matchday 10 trip to Udine comes as Roma look to keep pace in the Serie A table.

Roma travel to Udine for Saturday's Serie A tenth-round fixture against Udinese, which kicks off at 18:00 at the Bluenergy Stadium on 31 October. Gian Piero Gasperini has named a 22-man squad for the trip to Friuli. Paulo Dybala remains absent, as the coach had announced recently, while the young players Di Nunzio and Camara make the journey to Udine. The defensive options are Rensch, Koulierakis, N'Dicka, Molina, Hermoso, Mancini, Balerdi, Wesley, Lulli and Ghilardi. In midfield, Cristante, De Roon, Pisilli, Di Nunzio and Mora are included. The attacking group consists of Castro, Malen, Soulé and Camara. The full squad list is set for the visit to the Friuli club, with Gasperini having the 22 players available for the match.

Gian Piero Gasperini has released his squad list for Udinese vs Roma, a Serie A matchday 10 fixture taking place tomorrow at 18:00. Paulo Dybala is ruled out of the trip. The squad is made up of ten defenders: Rensch, Koulierakis, N'Dicka, Molina, Hermoso, Mancini, Balerdi, Wesley, Lulli and Ghilardi. The midfield options are Cristante, De Roon, Pisilli, Di Nunzio and Mora. The attacking group includes Castro, Malen, Soulé and Camara. Di Nunzio and Camara both feature in the travelling party, with Dybala the only notable absence from the list. The matchday 10 trip to Udine comes as Roma look to keep pace in the Serie A table.

Roma travel to Udine for Saturday's Serie A tenth-round fixture against Udinese, which kicks off at 18:00 at the Bluenergy Stadium on 31 October. Gian Piero Gasperini has named a 22-man squad for the trip to Friuli. Paulo Dybala remains absent, as the coach had announced recently, while the young players Di Nunzio and Camara make the journey to Udine. The defensive options are Rensch, Koulierakis, N'Dicka, Molina, Hermoso, Mancini, Balerdi, Wesley, Lulli and Ghilardi. In midfield, Cristante, De Roon, Pisilli, Di Nunzio and Mora are included. The attacking group consists of Castro, Malen, Soulé and Camara. The full squad list is set for the visit to the Friuli club, with Gasperini having the 22 players available for the match.

Gian Piero Gasperini has named his squad for Roma's trip to Udinese, with Mile Svilar, Manu Koné and Paulo Dybala ruled out. The match takes place tomorrow at 18:00 at the Bluenergy Stadium and counts for the tenth matchday of Serie A. The absences of Svilar, Koné and Dybala had already been announced. Roma's squad includes the young players Di Nunzio and Camara, who are both included in the matchday group. The goalkeepers are Devis Vásquez, Giorgio De Marzi and Pierluigi Gollini. The defenders are Devyne Rensch, Konstantinos Koulierakis, Evan N'Dicka, Nahuel Molina, Mario Hermoso, Gianluca Mancini, Leonardo Balerdi, Wesley, Emanuele Lulli and Daniele Ghilardi. The midfielders are Bryan Cristante, Marten de Roon, Niccolò Pisilli, Di Nunzio and Rodrigo Mora. The forwards are Santiago Castro, Donyell Malen, Matías Soulé and Camara.

Gian Piero Gasperini has released his squad list for Udinese vs Roma, a Serie A matchday 10 fixture taking place tomorrow at 18:00. Paulo Dybala is ruled out of the trip. The squad is made up of ten defenders: Rensch, Koulierakis, N'Dicka, Molina, Hermoso, Mancini, Balerdi, Wesley, Lulli and Ghilardi. The midfield options are Cristante, De Roon, Pisilli, Di Nunzio and Mora. The attacking group includes Castro, Malen, Soulé and Camara. Di Nunzio and Camara both feature in the travelling party, with Dybala the only notable absence from the list. The matchday 10 trip to Udine comes as Roma look to keep pace in the Serie A table.

Roma travel to Udine for Saturday's Serie A tenth-round fixture against Udinese, which kicks off at 18:00 at the Bluenergy Stadium on 31 October. Gian Piero Gasperini has named a 22-man squad for the trip to Friuli. Paulo Dybala remains absent, as the coach had announced recently, while the young players Di Nunzio and Camara make the journey to Udine. The defensive options are Rensch, Koulierakis, N'Dicka, Molina, Hermoso, Mancini, Balerdi, Wesley, Lulli and Ghilardi. In midfield, Cristante, De Roon, Pisilli, Di Nunzio and Mora are included. The attacking group consists of Castro, Malen, Soulé and Camara. The full squad list is set for the visit to the Friuli club, with Gasperini having the 22 players available for the match.

Gian Piero Gasperini has named his squad for Roma's trip to Udinese, with Mile Svilar, Manu Koné and Paulo Dybala ruled out. The match takes place tomorrow at 18:00 at the Bluenergy Stadium and counts for the tenth matchday of Serie A. The absences of Svilar, Koné and Dybala had already been announced. Roma's squad includes the young players Di Nunzio and Camara, who are both included in the matchday group. The goalkeepers are Devis Vásquez, Giorgio De Marzi and Pierluigi Gollini. The defenders are Devyne Rensch, Konstantinos Koulierakis, Evan N'Dicka, Nahuel Molina, Mario Hermoso, Gianluca Mancini, Leonardo Balerdi, Wesley, Emanuele Lulli and Daniele Ghilardi. The midfielders are Bryan Cristante, Marten de Roon, Niccolò Pisilli, Di Nunzio and Rodrigo Mora. The forwards are Santiago Castro, Donyell Malen, Matías Soulé and Camara.

Nahuel Molina has become one of Gasperini's most dangerous players in Roma's opening Serie A fixtures, proving to be a decisive summer acquisition for €13 million. The Argentine has demonstrated his impact through aggressive ball recovery in advanced positions—notably helping create Manu Koné's opening goal—and his consistent threat from distance. After five league matches, Molina ranks among Serie A's best for chances created (2.9 per 90 minutes, behind only Dybala and Wesley in giallorosso), ball recoveries (5.04 per 90), and possessions won in the opponent's third (0.78 per 90), according to Sofascore data. Roma have finally secured a right-sided threat matching Gasperini's tactical demands, addressing a weakness from last season when the club saw only sporadic contributions from a combination of Zeki Çelik and Kostas Tsimikas on that flank. Alongside other key acquisitions—Donyell Malen, Paulo Dybala and Leonardo Balerdi—Molina is reshaping the team's profile. Some observers outside Rome had already suggested he represented a downgrade compared to Çelik, but offensive and defensive statistics offer no room for interpretation. Molina's record through early September demonstrates substantial improvement across all phases: key passes, dribbling, expected assists, ball recoveries and possessions won in the advanced third all favour the Argentine over his predecessor.

Roma hold first place in Serie A ahead of Saturday's fixture against Inter. The side has conceded only one goal in the league this season—Ederson's effort in Atalanta's limited attempts—a defensive record matched among Europe's top five leagues only by Arsenal, the Europa League runners-up. In Germany, Freiburg lead with one goal conceded in three matches; in Spain, Real Madrid and Barcelona both have four; in France, four clubs have conceded two. Gasperini has overhauled Roma's defence compared to last season. Out are N'Dicka, Wesley and Koné; in are Balerdi, Molina and Pisilli. Balerdi and Molina have just arrived—Argentine internationals of substance, neither a routine acquisition. Balerdi missed the World Cup through injury; Molina was Copa América runner-up alongside Paulo Dybala after winning the World Cup in Qatar. The contrast with last season is stark. A year ago, Gasperini would have replaced N'Dicka and Wesley with Ziolkowski and Tsimikas, neither of whom remain at the club. Similarly, El Aynaoui would have started in place of Koné, but he too was moved on after just one season.

Roma's radio commentators dissected yesterday's victory in the context of the title race and squad depth, with particular focus on Leonardo Balerdi's impact and Rodrigo Mora's early form. Mario Corsi declared that only Roma, Inter and Como are serious contenders: "I'm not saying we win the Scudetto tomorrow, but it's real that there are Roma, Inter and Como. Full stop. But where do the others go…" David Rossi highlighted Balerdi's performance against the established order, saying: "I said this would take the place from N'Dicka, and yesterday he took it from him. How can Balerdi not be the starter on Saturday?…" Roma's campaign statistics drew praise—12 goals scored and just 1 conceded in the league so far—with Gianluca Piacentini observing that Roma have the best defence in Serie A, while Francesca Ferrazza identified European football as the decisive factor: "The discriminant for the Scudetto will be the Champions League. Roma, Inter and Como all play it—that's the key." Bareldi's defensive prowess dominated discussion. Piacentini described him as "maestro" and confessed: "I'm totally in love with Balerdi, and I'm developing a crush on Lulli." Mario Corsi compared him to Samuel, while Piero Torri acknowledged the central-back dilemma: "I believe Roma will buy him outright. He has everything: he's quick, strong in the air, elegant…the problem is he seems like a proper centre-back, and there's N'Dicka there." Sandro Sabatini expressed surprise at the overall squad calibre, asking rhetorically: "Is Balerdi, Roma's fourth defender, this strong? Is Pisilli, the fourth midfielder, this strong? And Lulli, unknown until mid-August, this strong? Roma are sending very important signals, both collectively and from individuals." Alessio Nardo noted the squad's transformation over the past year: "If a year ago you were missing N'Dicka, Wesley and Koné, you'd have played with a far less developed Pisilli, Tsimikas and Ziółkowski. Today you have new starters whom you now struggle to exclude." Roberto Pruzzo offered a critical take on Mora's play: "If he plays 20 metres from goal he can be decisive, but at 40–50 metres from goal it seems like a mess to me." Corsi defended the midfielder's early contribution: "Now I read a lot of criticism of Mora, but he arrived the day before yesterday…enough, let's wait. We need him a lot." Niccolò Pisilli drew praise for his performance in an unfamiliar role, while Marten de Roon impressed Lorenzo Pes: "He knows everything by heart, he's brought order and is an added value. He shouldn't be a starter, but at the right moments he knows how to manage traffic." Nando Orsi confirmed Roma's merit in yesterday's win but tempered expectations: "Roma clearly deserved to win, didn't thrill me like other matches, but that was predictable. We're only at the fifth game; I'd wait for the tenth, but if one of the two wins on Saturday there would already be a hierarchy." Gasperini was credited with instilling tactical intensity, with Corsi stating: "Gasperini has put a sporting nastiness into the players, and now they all run in a remarkable way." Roma face Inter in what multiple commentators framed as a title-defining fixture within weeks of the season's start. The squad's depth and injury management were identified as potential deciding factors in the campaign ahead.