Malen targets top scorer honour and backs Read arrival

Daniele Ghilardi has established himself as a key figure in the Roma defence, more than a year after a difficult afternoon in August 2025 that changed his approach. The Italian outlet's feature traces his rise from that moment, when he was a new arrival from Verona and was in the squad for the friendly against Neom in Rome. A mistake and a lapse of concentration brought an furious reaction from Gian Piero Gasperini, with shouts, dressing-downs and harsh words aimed at the centre-back. That moment, the article says, sparked his determination to prove he was a player worthy of Roma and to earn his place in the team. Ghilardi, now 21, has since worked quietly and patiently, earning his place step by step rather than taking shortcuts. The article describes him as a defender who defends, attacks, tackles and leaves no space for the striker, having removed his weaknesses one by one. Gasperini does not like to talk about reserves and considers every player a starter, and after Ghilardi's goal at Udine he is one in reality. He has also surprised in an unexpected role at the Bluenergy Stadium. Gasperini had known what he could offer for a year but preferred to give him the time needed to grow into a more complete player. Gasperini said nothing in the article, but the piece is clear that Ghilardi's versatility gives Roma another option across several roles. Displacing Gianluca Mancini will not be simple, the article notes, but his adaptability opens new possibilities and gives Gasperini an extra card to play. Ghilardi will start on the bench in Manchester. The article concludes that the great stages are no longer so distant, and that he has already shown he is ready to claim them, and this time he will not wait for someone to make room for him, but will take his place himself.

Gian Piero Gasperini has reworked Roma's schedule around their Champions League clash at Manchester, with the club's return journey from the away game changed as well. Roma are playing their eighth match in 24 days and have had to do much of that without Manu Koné, Paulo Dybala, Mile Svilar and Bryan Cristante, leaving the squad stretched. A win in Manchester would all but seal a play-off place, but Roma must also break their Old Trafford hoodoo and cope with fatigue. After Tuesday's match against Cagliari, Gasperini gave the players a day off, with training resuming on Thursday. The squad leave for Udine on Friday, play on Saturday, and then stay in Friuli rather than returning to Rome. Roma have been in Manchester since yesterday, and the return plan differs from previous away trips. There will be no overnight journey after the match; instead, the team depart at 10.45 the following morning. The squad are due back at Trigoria on Wednesday afternoon, and from Thursday the focus shifts to Sassuolo. The lighter schedule is meant to help the players recover quickly before Saturday evening's fixture against the Neroverdi at the Stadio Olimpico. The move is designed to reduce physical and mental strain on a squad short of options, with Gasperini studying a plan to manage the team's energy levels across the run of games.

Stefano Pioli has revealed that Roma considered him before choosing Gian Piero Gasperini as head coach. Speaking to Sky Sport, Pioli said: "There were moments when everyone called me. Roma too, but I had just received the contract from Al Nassr and I could not fail to honour my word." The club's interest came after Claudio Ranieri's departure, and Pioli was among the profiles the Giallorossi weighed up before settling on Gasperini. Bryan Cristante is set to be the only player on the pitch tomorrow who was also involved in Roma's last meeting at Old Trafford, the first leg of a Europa League semi-final they lost to Manchester United. Cristante arrives in excellent form after his goal and outstanding performance in Udine, and Gasperini still regards him as indispensable. He is expected to lead the midfield again, probably alongside De Roon, with Pisilli playing further forward. There is no fitness boost for Paulo Dybala and Manu Koné, who are both expected to miss out against Sassuolo, which takes place tomorrow, 3 November 2026. The update came in Il Tempo's round-up of Roma news, which also included the Pioli revelation and the midfield plans for the coming match.

Roma thrashed Udinese 5-0 and continued their remarkable scoring run, with 28 goals in the first ten rounds of the season, an average of 2.8 per match. The Corriere della Sera reports that it is the club's best return in a single-group league format, a record matched only in 1928-29, and Roma now boast the best attack in the division. The side have kept their attacking identity despite a long injury list. Svilar, Koné, Pellegrini and Dybala have all been sidelined, while Cristante has just returned from injury. Roma have not altered the way they play, and the team keeps pressing for goals even when the tempo drops. The goals have been spread across the squad rather than resting on one man. Malen is among the scorers, but the output is not down to him alone: 11 different players have scored in Serie A, rising to 14 once Champions League goals are included. Gasperini has highlighted that many of the goals come after well-constructed, attractive moves. The report places this side in a long Roman tradition of attacking football, from Liedholm's web-like passing and Eriksson's vertical play with Pruzzo, through Spalletti's team with Totti and Dzeko, to Zeman's offensive sides. The article argues that Gasperini's Roma now belongs in that gallery of teams that have made Roma fans dream.

Roma travel to Old Trafford for tomorrow evening's Champions League clash against Manchester United, a fixture that could shape their route towards the play-offs. Il Messaggero reports that Roma have struggled at this ground, losing all four previous visits, some by heavy margins. This time, though, the picture is different: Manchester United are third from bottom in the Premier League and going through a difficult spell, and English fans on social media fear another heavy defeat. Gian Piero Gasperini is not underestimating the opponent, however, and has to deal with several injuries. Paulo Dybala, Manu Koné and Mile Svilar will all miss the match. Dybala and Koné will try to recover for the Sassuolo fixture, while Svilar will not return until after the international break. Gollini is expected to continue in goal, having previously worn the Manchester United shirt. In defence, Evan N'Dicka, the returning Gianluca Mancini and one of Leonardo Balerdi or Mario Hermoso are set to start. Cristante and De Roon will form the midfield pairing. Wesley, closely watched by English scouts, is set to operate on the left, while the right-hand position remains an open contest. Without Dybala, Malen leads the attack: he has three goals and two assists in three European matches, and is eager to perform at a stadium where he previously played a few minutes for Aston Villa. Soulé will partner him, while the final place in the front three is between Mora, who is improving, and Pisilli, who wants to win back his place after resting in Udine. Roma finished their previous match in Udine strongly, and the squad now travels to England to prepare for the Champions League tie against Manchester United. The Old Trafford game is the first of the two visits, and the result is expected to weigh heavily on Roma's chances of reaching the play-offs.

Como's 4-1 win over Manchester United on 21 October at the Sinigaglia offers Roma a blueprint for Tuesday's clash at Old Trafford, two weeks later. The match exposed where Michael Carrick's side are vulnerable, and Nico Paz was the standout, scoring twice and providing an assist. Paz's first goal came after just two minutes. He received the ball at the edge of the box, found space between United's midfield and defence, took his time to control the ball and shot. Maguire dropped back instead of stepping out decisively to challenge him. A similar pattern appeared for the second goal: at 49', Paz had room to play a pass in behind for Douvikas, who beat Lammens. The third goal came from an error by Baleba, whom Paz pressed, before Paz recovered the ball and raced towards goal. Three different goals, but one common problem: United could not protect the central zone and could not reorganise when they lost possession. Como finished with 55% of the possession and a clear edge in the quality of their chances. Bruno Fernandes acknowledged the problems. After the heavy defeat, the captain questioned the team's tactical approach, telling TNT Sports: “It was a choice by the staff not to press man-to-man. But when you give too much space to teams like that, you allow them to gain confidence.” He added: “Sometimes we have to be braver, take the risk of a higher press and put the opponents under pressure.” Carrick offered a different reading, pointing out that the pressing attempts in the second half also created new problems. That is the fault line: when United wait, they give up space between the lines, and when they press without proper coordination, they leave gaps behind their midfield. Roma can exploit this. Gasperini has players suited to these areas. Soulé and Rodrigo Mora, moving behind Malen, can occupy the zones where Paz made the difference, Soulé with his ability to drift inside and create overloads, and Mora with his quick thinking, technique and runs into the box. Malen, in front of them, can attack the depth as soon as a gap opens between the defenders. Roma have 28 goals in their first ten league matches, a source of confidence, and the win at Udine, with Soulé, Mora and Malen all involved, showed the team can find different routes to goal. Roma also met Como on 11 October, ten days before the United result. That match ended 0-0, with Roma holding out for almost all of the second half with ten men after Malen was sent off at 53'. Gasperini had to give up his attacking ambitions to protect the result, and he still limited Paz. The two games were very different, but they say something about both sides: Como dominated a fragile United, while Roma showed they can change their approach without losing their shape. On Tuesday, though, Roma will need their attacking version. The article warns against assuming an easy win. United's crisis and Carrick's increasingly precarious position do not erase the quality of Bruno Fernandes, Mbeumo and Cunha, who are most dangerous when they can break in open space. Gasperini will need to find the right balance between aggression and cover. If Roma can get Soulé and Mora into the spaces left by United's midfielders, forcing the visitors' defence to choose between pressing out and protecting Malen, they could cause serious problems. The fault line has been identified; now Gasperini must widen it.

Nine months after their last visit to Udine, Roma are a different side: authoritative, overwhelming and capable of playing at relentless tempo with an intensity that eventually overwhelms their opponents. Much of the transformation comes from the work done on the training ground, even though the squad, enriched in quality, is still missing a couple of key pieces. Gian Piero Gasperini has managed to deepen the squad over recent weeks, shaping and developing several players despite a run of injuries to Svilar, Koné, Cristante, Dybala and Pellegrini that would have halted any club in Serie A. Today, anyone who takes the pitch, writes Stefano Carina in Il Messaggero, does not leave fans longing for those on the bench. From Lulli to Ghilardi, passing through Mora, Rensch, Castro and Balerdi, each player who gets his chance is able to take a leading role in turn. The acceleration has come without Dybala, who was the team's guiding light before a calf problem sidelined him. That setback has allowed Soulé to shine again. Soulé is a paradox in himself. Over the summer, every effort was made to sell him. Today, alongside the "monster" Malen, who has scored 22 goals in 2026, the most of any striker in Europe this year, ahead of Yamal, Mbappé, Haaland, Raphinha and Ballon d'Or winner Kane, he is the extra man, the player capable of carrying the team on his shoulders. A leader, something he was long accused of not being. Another piece of Gasperini magic.

Gian Piero Gasperini's Roma have set a club record of 28 goals after their first 10 Serie A matches, and the coach's influence is being felt in more than the table. Roma have also gone 17 league games unbeaten, a run that began seven months ago, and have scored with 14 different players. The article credits Gasperini's method, which has made a difference since last season, with improving both the collective behaviour of the team and the development of individual players, young and experienced alike. The clearest evidence of that work, the article argues, comes when Roma are under pressure. Several key players have been missing for weeks: Svilar, Koné and Dybala are all regular starters, and Pellegrini is also absent. Cristante has returned after three matches out and was a major presence at Udine. Despite the lack of players of real quality, Gasperini has kept his idea of football intact, and the team has not lost the identity that marks every match he prepares. At Udine, Gasperini made changes during the game to keep his 3-4-2-1 system without abandoning it. In the closing stages he pushed Ghilardi wide on the right, asking him to finish the match against Udinese as a winger, and moved Molina up into the attacking midfield role behind Castro and in line with Pisilli. Mancini came on for Soulé, taking Ghilardi's place in defence, and Ghilardi's move into midfield pushed Molina further forward. The attack was therefore reshaped from the starting line-up, which had Malen alongside Soulé and Mora. The second-half moves also raise the question of January reinforcements. Given the seriousness of Pellegrini's injury, added to the absence of the out-and-out striker who did not arrive in the summer, the article says Roma would benefit from two more attacking midfielders to give greater choice up front. Pisilli and Molina, a midfielder and a wide player, ended up in those positions at Udine. Gasperini is therefore expected to wait for two signings at the start of 2027. In the meantime, the article notes he has been creative in dealing with the emergency, as he did last year when he dropped Cristante into defence, and in pre-season he played Hermoso in midfield.

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 radio pundits split on whether Gian Piero Gasperini should keep Gianluca Mancini in the back three or give the starting role to Daniele Ghilardi, while also discussing Manchester United's slump ahead of the Champions League meeting. David Rossi of Rete Sport argued that Ghilardi should play, saying: "Ghilardi deve giocare, non Mancini, sia per un discorso difensivo che offensivo." He pointed to Ghilardi's recent form, with two goals in the last two matches, one of them disallowed, and a decisive assist against Cagliari, adding that he had been the best player on the pitch at Lecce. Rossi said Mancini's continued selection was a dressing-room decision, noting that Gasperini had asked for new contracts for Lorenzo Pellegrini and Paulo Dybala. The debate sits against a strong run for the club. Roma have six matches in a row behind them and have reached the seventh game of a run of nine, which Lorenzo Pes noted with a squad stretched thin. Pes also pointed out that against the same opponents as last season, Roma have seven more points this year. Fabio Petruzzi of Rete Sport said the team was showing strong attitude and that Roma were clearly superior to recent years, adding: "non bisogna aver timore di pensare alla vittoria del titolo." Mario Corsi of Tele Radio Stereo argued that either Roma or Inter would win the Scudetto, and that a stadium project and a Scudetto would make the Friedkins historic. On team selection, Gianluca Piacentini expected some rotation, with Marten de Roon expected to start because he is due at the press conference, and Niccolò Pisilli seen taking Rodrigo Mora's place. Piacentini said Wesley would not play if Gasperini had seen his social media activity. Pes saw Leonardo Balerdi starting in place of Mario Hermoso, with Devyne Rensch as a card the fans underestimate, and expected the three midfielders to return with Mora coming on during the game. Corsi also argued that Bryan Cristante had become more important than Manu Koné. On Manchester United, Roberto Pruzzo said: "Lo United ha staccato la spina", describing them as weakened and unable to motivate anyone under former player Carrick, and calling it an opportunity to exploit. Nando Orsi warned that Old Trafford is always difficult, saying: "Non so se è sicura la vittoria della Roma." Mario Mattioli added that the team must take the game seriously, that entering Old Trafford is intimidating, and that Roma should avoid thinking only of avenging the seven goals conceded. Piero Torri said a win at Manchester would put Roma three-quarters of the way towards a play-off place, while noting that Inter depend heavily on Lautaro Martínez. The programme also covered refereeing controversies, including a revoked penalty in Como-Venezia that Alessio Nardo called inexplicable, and a player struck in the face in Lazio-Cagliari. Roma's next match is the trip to Manchester United in the Champions League.

Gian Piero Gasperini has reworked Roma's schedule around their Champions League clash at Manchester, with the club's return journey from the away game changed as well. Roma are playing their eighth match in 24 days and have had to do much of that without Manu Koné, Paulo Dybala, Mile Svilar and Bryan Cristante, leaving the squad stretched. A win in Manchester would all but seal a play-off place, but Roma must also break their Old Trafford hoodoo and cope with fatigue. After Tuesday's match against Cagliari, Gasperini gave the players a day off, with training resuming on Thursday. The squad leave for Udine on Friday, play on Saturday, and then stay in Friuli rather than returning to Rome. Roma have been in Manchester since yesterday, and the return plan differs from previous away trips. There will be no overnight journey after the match; instead, the team depart at 10.45 the following morning. The squad are due back at Trigoria on Wednesday afternoon, and from Thursday the focus shifts to Sassuolo. The lighter schedule is meant to help the players recover quickly before Saturday evening's fixture against the Neroverdi at the Stadio Olimpico. The move is designed to reduce physical and mental strain on a squad short of options, with Gasperini studying a plan to manage the team's energy levels across the run of games.

Stefano Pioli has revealed that Roma considered him before choosing Gian Piero Gasperini as head coach. Speaking to Sky Sport, Pioli said: "There were moments when everyone called me. Roma too, but I had just received the contract from Al Nassr and I could not fail to honour my word." The club's interest came after Claudio Ranieri's departure, and Pioli was among the profiles the Giallorossi weighed up before settling on Gasperini. Bryan Cristante is set to be the only player on the pitch tomorrow who was also involved in Roma's last meeting at Old Trafford, the first leg of a Europa League semi-final they lost to Manchester United. Cristante arrives in excellent form after his goal and outstanding performance in Udine, and Gasperini still regards him as indispensable. He is expected to lead the midfield again, probably alongside De Roon, with Pisilli playing further forward. There is no fitness boost for Paulo Dybala and Manu Koné, who are both expected to miss out against Sassuolo, which takes place tomorrow, 3 November 2026. The update came in Il Tempo's round-up of Roma news, which also included the Pioli revelation and the midfield plans for the coming match.