Malen already among Roma's elite alongside Dybala

Roma's evolution under coach Gian Piero Gasperini has taken shape across two decisive fixtures—the Champions League debut against Fenerbahce in Istanbul on Thursday and a four-day-later trip to Turin against Torino—that showcase the impact of the summer transfer market overhaul steered by new sporting director D'Amico. In the first match, Roma's return to Europe's elite competition after a seven-year absence saw Gasperini field performers who had earned third place in Serie A. Against Torino, however, two summer signings started, with three more introduced during play as Roma secured a fourth consecutive league win. Despite missing three key players—Evan N'Dicka, Wesley, and Manu Koné—Roma maintained tactical identity and attacking threat at Turin, underlining how the summer reinforcements have strengthened the squad's reliability compared to the previous season. The shift in personnel tells the story plainly. A year ago, Gasperini would have replaced N'Dicka and Wesley with Kostas Tsimikas and Jan Ziółkowski; neither remains at Trigoria. Manu Koné's role would have gone to Neil El Aynaoui, who has been moved on after one season, as have Tsimikas and Ziółkowski. In their place came Leonardo Balerdi and Nahuel Molina, both Argentine internationals—Balerdi absent from last year's World Cup only through injury, Molina a Qatar winner alongside Paulo Dybala and recently a World Cup runner-up. Niccolò Pisilli, grown into his role at the start of 2026 and a national team player, has inherited Koné's midfield spot. Gasperini paired Balerdi immediately with Marten de Roon, who arrived from Bergamo in the final moments of the window and played more than half the second half against Torino. Lorenzo Pellegrini, called up after five months out, extended Gasperini's roster of captains—the coach has made clear he possesses multiple leaders beyond Bryan Cristante and Gianluca Mancini. Gasperini operates what he calls the "law of sixteen," seeking to deploy the same core of players in every match to guarantee brilliance, intensity and competitive edge. He refuses publicly to divide his squad into starters and substitutes; there is no difference between a player who begins and one who enters in progress. New sporting director D'Amico's tenure has produced a squad numerically smaller than its predecessor, as D'Amico himself acknowledged, yet Gasperini presented it at full strength in Turin. The article notes that one or two adjustments in January may be needed to perfect the squad further.

Roma made enquiries for Real Madrid forwards Franco Mastantuono and Endrick during the summer transfer window but left empty-handed on both fronts. Mastantuono, an Argentine, has since made history by becoming the youngest foreigner to score a hat-trick in Serie A after joining Fiorentina on loan. Roma wanted a permanent deal for Mastantuono, but Real Madrid insisted on retaining control of the player, ending talks quickly. The Fiorentina loan includes no option or obligation to buy, with the Viola covering roughly half of his €3.5M wages. Brazilian forward Endrick remained at Real Madrid and did not move, though Roma remain keen on him ahead of January. He stayed largely because of José Mourinho's orders following Rodrygo's injury, but he has yet to play any minutes, sitting behind several established stars and Carlos Espì in the pecking order. His frustration is mounting, and his January departure will gain traction if his situation doesn't improve. Roma rate him highly and are prepared to structure a deal similar to the one used for Nico Paz to bring him in. Roma's inability to sell Matías Soulé hampered most of their summer plans, though he is performing well enough that the club cannot complain about the outcome. They would have preferred greater variety in their attacking options. Mastantuono would have offered something different, but long-term loans of that nature are not palatable, and Roma are not short-handed as matters stand.

Serie A's disciplinary body has sanctioned Mario Hermoso with a second caution and Niccolò Pisilli with a first following the latest round of matches. Roma avoided a club fine this time, in contrast to the previous week after the Atalanta fixture. Inter, Roma's next league opponents at the Olimpico, will be without Aleksandar Kolarov for the trip. The former Roma, Lazio and Inter defender received a two-match ban and a €5,000 fine for conduct in the match. He was sanctioned for directing disrespectful criticism at the referee in the 19th minute of the first half and for using an insulting expression towards the official at the moment of his expulsion. Kolarov, currently serving as an assistant to Inter manager Chivu, will miss the fixture at the Olimpico as a result of the suspension.

Roma secured three points at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, with Donyell Malen again proving decisive by scoring the opening goal—his sixth of the Serie A season—before being replaced shortly before the hour by Santiago Castro. The Argentine striker entered with his customary intensity but made less of an impact than in previous appearances. In his post-match analysis for DAZN, Cristian Brocchi drew a striking parallel between Castro and Lautaro Martinez during his early years at Inter, when he competed for playing time alongside Mauro Icardi. Brocchi highlighted the similarities between the Malen–Castro pairing and the 2018–19 Inter front line featuring Icardi and Lautaro. The former midfielder said: "I see that player in him. He has many qualities, even if he still needs to improve in many aspects, just like that young Lautaro who arrived at Inter and nobody expected could become the player he is today." He added: "Santiago is like that and can give a lot to Roma. Malen is impressive, but Roma will play many matches and will also need Castro and his character." Brocchi was drawing on Lautaro's own trajectory: in his first Serie A season in the Inter shirt, the Argentine—then 21, Castro's current age—managed only 9 goals despite Icardi's dominant form in a campaign that yielded 29 goals in 34 appearances for the senior striker. Lautaro's breakthrough came the following season when he finished with 21 goals.

Roma's perfect start to the 2026–27 season—four wins from four matches, twelve points from twelve—mirrors an uncanny parallel from twelve years ago. The club's last identical opening came in 2014–15 under Rudi Garcia, who was also in his second season at the helm after guiding Roma back to the Champions League. Like Garcia then, Gian Piero Gasperini opened his second campaign as Roma boss with a home win against Fiorentina. The 2014 scoreline was 2–0 with goals from Nainggolan and Gervinho; this time Roma won 4–0, with Donyell Malen scoring a hat-trick and Niccolò Pisilli adding the fourth. Garcia's Roma went on to win their first five league matches, scoring nine goals and conceding just one. Gasperini's side has already registered twelve goals scored and one conceded after four games, continuing a streak of commanding physical form that allows Roma to sustain an exceptionally high tempo. The parallel deepens with Saturday's fixture against Inter at the Olimpico. Both Roma and Inter arrive unbeaten with twelve points from twelve—a scenario that echoes the Juventus-Roma clash of 5 October 2014, when both teams came to Turin on identical records. Gasperini has described Inter as "the reference team of our league". The 2014 encounter left a profound mark. Radja Nainggolan recalled: "That defeat took our energy and caused us a psychological setback. That evening we understood that we would never be able to win the Scudetto". Roma lost that match 3–2 in controversial circumstances involving referee Gianluca Rocchi. Gasperini is acutely aware of the history. He has won only five of his 36 career meetings with Inter, alongside nine draws and 22 defeats. More pressingly, he has not beaten them in 17 consecutive matches; his last victory came on 11 November 2018 when his Atalanta side won 4–1. Roma's own record at the Olimpico against Inter offers no comfort—their last home victory against the Nerazzurri dates to 2 October 2016. Gasperini told reporters: "Last year there was a difference: on the return we took a heavy defeat, but from there the real Roma was born. There was an escalation, not just in results but also in attitudes, behaviour and mentality. It is also an opportunity for us to measure ourselves and do better than in recent matches." Saturday's encounter will not decide the season, but it represents Roma's first genuine test against a team of a superior tier. The Olimpico is expected to be a cauldron of noise. Gasperini wants to understand how much his Roma have closed the gap to the Nerazzurri since last season's return fixture, when Inter inflicted a heavy defeat on the Giallorossi.

Roma produced a commanding tactical display to defeat Torino, with Leonardo Balerdi marshalling the defence throughout a performance that saw Gasperini's side control proceedings from the opening exchanges. Four changes from Roma's midweek Champions League fixture—Balerdi, Pisilli, Lulli and Molina—maintained the team's standard, with Pisilli closing out the match in a critical moment despite one of his less polished displays, while Lulli and Molina remained creative and showed clear room for improvement. The victory came as Roma prepare for their next major test against the Serie A champions in the coming days. Roma's suffocating press set the tone immediately. Gasperini's team opened with an aggressive 3-4-2-1 that targeted Torino's attempts at possession-based build-up, with Cristante pressing Mandragora, Pisilli tracking Fitz-Jim, and the three centre-backs—Balerdi on Simeone, Mancini on Vlašić, and Hermoso dealing with Gineitis—marking tightly in advanced positions. The giallorossi dominated territory and possession early, disrupting Torino's passing rhythm through relentless pressure and recovering the ball high upfield for dangerous breaks. Although Roma failed to convert their early superiority into goals, a key moment came at the thirty-minute mark when Soulé and Dybala swapped positions; the fluency of Roma's football through the middle improved when these adjustments allowed Dybala to move closer to support Malen. The breakthrough arrived late in the first half when Mancini's recovery from Torino's loose build-up released Dybala, whose through-ball found Malen. The Dutch forward's lethal instinct from a low position gave Roma the lead. Torino emerged from half-time with tactical adjustments—Abate raised Mandragora and Vlašić wider alongside Simeone, introduced the excellent Bragança to midfield control in place of Gineitis, and switched Cacciamani for Belghali—but around the hour mark, Bragança began threading meaningful patterns that loosened Roma's pressing intensity. Gasperini countered by withdrawing Soulé and Malen for Mora and Castro, shifting Roma to a 5-3-2 shape with Koné and De Roon replacing Cristante and Dybala in a conservative but decisive adjustment. Torino's momentum faded as Balerdi, alongside De Roon—who dominated through recoveries, interceptions, dangerous passing line disruptions, and decisive individual pressure—ensured Roma's back line remained unbreakable. The match closed with Mancini orchestrating the final attacking phase, his calmness in possession setting up Pisilli's finishing touch. Gasperini later described the imminent big fixture against the defending champions as merely "an opportunity to measure ourselves," words the coach framed as releasing unnecessary tension and a reminder that a match played at the end of September cannot carry ultimate significance.

Roma's evolution under coach Gian Piero Gasperini has taken shape across two decisive fixtures—the Champions League debut against Fenerbahce in Istanbul on Thursday and a four-day-later trip to Turin against Torino—that showcase the impact of the summer transfer market overhaul steered by new sporting director D'Amico. In the first match, Roma's return to Europe's elite competition after a seven-year absence saw Gasperini field performers who had earned third place in Serie A. Against Torino, however, two summer signings started, with three more introduced during play as Roma secured a fourth consecutive league win. Despite missing three key players—Evan N'Dicka, Wesley, and Manu Koné—Roma maintained tactical identity and attacking threat at Turin, underlining how the summer reinforcements have strengthened the squad's reliability compared to the previous season. The shift in personnel tells the story plainly. A year ago, Gasperini would have replaced N'Dicka and Wesley with Kostas Tsimikas and Jan Ziółkowski; neither remains at Trigoria. Manu Koné's role would have gone to Neil El Aynaoui, who has been moved on after one season, as have Tsimikas and Ziółkowski. In their place came Leonardo Balerdi and Nahuel Molina, both Argentine internationals—Balerdi absent from last year's World Cup only through injury, Molina a Qatar winner alongside Paulo Dybala and recently a World Cup runner-up. Niccolò Pisilli, grown into his role at the start of 2026 and a national team player, has inherited Koné's midfield spot. Gasperini paired Balerdi immediately with Marten de Roon, who arrived from Bergamo in the final moments of the window and played more than half the second half against Torino. Lorenzo Pellegrini, called up after five months out, extended Gasperini's roster of captains—the coach has made clear he possesses multiple leaders beyond Bryan Cristante and Gianluca Mancini. Gasperini operates what he calls the "law of sixteen," seeking to deploy the same core of players in every match to guarantee brilliance, intensity and competitive edge. He refuses publicly to divide his squad into starters and substitutes; there is no difference between a player who begins and one who enters in progress. New sporting director D'Amico's tenure has produced a squad numerically smaller than its predecessor, as D'Amico himself acknowledged, yet Gasperini presented it at full strength in Turin. The article notes that one or two adjustments in January may be needed to perfect the squad further.

Roma produced a commanding tactical display to defeat Torino, with Leonardo Balerdi marshalling the defence throughout a performance that saw Gasperini's side control proceedings from the opening exchanges. Four changes from Roma's midweek Champions League fixture—Balerdi, Pisilli, Lulli and Molina—maintained the team's standard, with Pisilli closing out the match in a critical moment despite one of his less polished displays, while Lulli and Molina remained creative and showed clear room for improvement. The victory came as Roma prepare for their next major test against the Serie A champions in the coming days. Roma's suffocating press set the tone immediately. Gasperini's team opened with an aggressive 3-4-2-1 that targeted Torino's attempts at possession-based build-up, with Cristante pressing Mandragora, Pisilli tracking Fitz-Jim, and the three centre-backs—Balerdi on Simeone, Mancini on Vlašić, and Hermoso dealing with Gineitis—marking tightly in advanced positions. The giallorossi dominated territory and possession early, disrupting Torino's passing rhythm through relentless pressure and recovering the ball high upfield for dangerous breaks. Although Roma failed to convert their early superiority into goals, a key moment came at the thirty-minute mark when Soulé and Dybala swapped positions; the fluency of Roma's football through the middle improved when these adjustments allowed Dybala to move closer to support Malen. The breakthrough arrived late in the first half when Mancini's recovery from Torino's loose build-up released Dybala, whose through-ball found Malen. The Dutch forward's lethal instinct from a low position gave Roma the lead. Torino emerged from half-time with tactical adjustments—Abate raised Mandragora and Vlašić wider alongside Simeone, introduced the excellent Bragança to midfield control in place of Gineitis, and switched Cacciamani for Belghali—but around the hour mark, Bragança began threading meaningful patterns that loosened Roma's pressing intensity. Gasperini countered by withdrawing Soulé and Malen for Mora and Castro, shifting Roma to a 5-3-2 shape with Koné and De Roon replacing Cristante and Dybala in a conservative but decisive adjustment. Torino's momentum faded as Balerdi, alongside De Roon—who dominated through recoveries, interceptions, dangerous passing line disruptions, and decisive individual pressure—ensured Roma's back line remained unbreakable. The match closed with Mancini orchestrating the final attacking phase, his calmness in possession setting up Pisilli's finishing touch. Gasperini later described the imminent big fixture against the defending champions as merely "an opportunity to measure ourselves," words the coach framed as releasing unnecessary tension and a reminder that a match played at the end of September cannot carry ultimate significance.

Roma have shown in their opening matches that they can succeed through multiple routes, not just dominant football, a development that signals genuine progress under Gasperini. The first fixtures against Fiorentina and Lecce showcased the coach's blueprint at its clearest: high pressure, aggressive recovery, swift combinations and visible superiority through possession. But subsequent challenges have revealed deeper qualities. Against Atalanta, Roma had to sustain belief when a draw seemed inevitable, winning in the final moments with lucidity intact. The trip to Istanbul to face Fenerbahce in the Champions League added another test: no dominance, a disrupted setup with Koné injured and Dybala cramping, yet the side maintained balance and found a point that could prove valuable in the European campaign. Torino then presented the least spectacular challenge—a messy affair played without the usual intensity after the Turkish journey—and Roma won that too. The consistent theme is adaptation without loss of identity. Roma have shown they can dominate through football but do not depend exclusively on it. They have won by controlling matches, by striking late, by enduring a difficult European night, and by grinding out results when energy and automatism were depleted. Each fixture posed a different problem; each time the squad found an answer. Gasperini appears to have added swiftly to his footballing philosophy something that belongs to mature teams: the capacity to read what a match demands and adjust without abandoning core principles. Character, stubbornness, experience and management can carry a side through nights when football alone falls short. That capacity, the article suggests, is often where good squads begin to become something greater.