Mancini backs Dybala as world-class talent; five teams in title race, not just Roma and Inter

Rodrigo Mora's time has arrived, with the Portuguese teenager scoring in a third consecutive Serie A match against Sassuolo, following earlier goals against Cagliari and Udinese. In the past few hours he has also earned his first call-up to the Portugal senior national team, in the post-Cristiano Ronaldo era. The Corriere della Sera's Simone Valdarchi writes that there is no crown to inherit and no blasphemous comparison to make; this is simply the story of a teenager who has handled the normal difficulties of arriving in Italian football with brilliance, in an important city like Rome and in a season when Gasperini wants to aim for the top of the league. For weeks, things were not going so well for Mora, but he has kept working and waiting for his moment. In recent weeks, with Dybala out and set to return after the international break in Parma, Mora has found space in the trequartista role, adding flair to matches with his touches in the final 30 metres. Alongside his three consecutive Serie A goals, he produced the assist for Soulé's opening goal for Roma against Manchester United at Old Trafford last Tuesday. It was his second assist of the season, after the one against Real Madrid for Malen. Those were not ordinary fixtures. With the goal against Sassuolo, the Portuguese now has four goals, making him the club's second-highest scorer alongside Pisilli and Soulé, behind Malen, who is on 12. Valdarchi's point is that Mora is a teenager, born in 2007, who is adjusting to a new league and a demanding city. Mora's first senior call-up with Portugal marks a further step in a rapid rise, and the youngster now combines international recognition with a growing role in Gasperini's attacking options.

Roma have scored 31 goals in their first 11 matches of the season, a total that puts Gian Piero Gasperini's side among the most prolific attacks in the club's history and in recent Serie A decades. The tally was completed by a hat-trick in the win over Sassuolo, which took Roma past the 1928-29 season, the second-best scoring campaign in the club's history. Il Romanista describes the figure as a historic landmark. To find similar numbers, one has to go back to Luciano Spalletti's Roma of 2016-17, which stopped at 26 goals, or to the Garcia and Fonseca sides, which managed no more than 24-25 in the same number of matches. The contrast with last season is even starker: Roma scored just 12 goals in their first 11 matchdays, relying more on defensive solidity than on attack. Under Gasperini, the team has adopted a total attacking mentality and is averaging almost three goals per game. The only match without a goal was the 0-0 draw at Como, played with a numerical disadvantage for almost half the game. Otherwise Roma have found the net in every fixture, often more than once. Over the last 65 years of Serie A, only Juventus under Allegri (33 goals) and Napoli under Sarri (32 goals) have scored more after 11 matchdays, while Roma have matched Lazio's total from that season. All of this has come despite the long absence of Paulo Dybala, a sign of how completely the collective is now built around attack and entertainment.

Roma beat Sassuolo 3-0 to move up to third place in Serie A, just two points behind the top of the table. With the league now pausing for international fixtures, Gian Piero Gasperini will use the break to recover injured players, starting with Mile Svilar and Paulo Dybala, who are expected to return against Parma when Serie A resumes. The break will also see 13 Giallorossi players leave Trigoria to join their respective national teams. The international fortnight comes at a time when Roma are looking to build on their strong start to the campaign and keep pace with the leaders. The Italian article also features a cartoon by longtime reader Michele from Oman, published alongside the match report to mark the departures of the national-team players.

Former Roma midfielder Edoardo Bove has praised Gian Piero Gasperini's side, saying the team "has great potential" and plays an almost suffocating, man-to-man style. Now at Watford, Bove said he had faced Gasperini in Italy and knew well the problems his football creates. Looking at his own future, he added: "Being in England makes me happy, it was a dream. But I don't hide that I have one eye on Italy." Francesco Totti has again spoken about a possible return to Roma and left the door open. "For me Roma is everything, but certain things are done in two, not alone," the former captain said, adding that he did not want to stir controversy. He also recognised the club's good form: "They are doing well, everything works and the team is very strong." Remembering Trigoria, he said: "It was my home. I arrived there at twelve and stayed for over thirty-five years." Roma face the final international break of 2026 with 13 players called up by their national teams. Soulé, Balerdi and Castro will join Argentina and Wesley will link up with Brazil. Italy have called up Pisilli and Ghilardi, while Mancini has been ruled out by a strain to his hip flexor. Malen will rejoin the Netherlands and Mora returns to the Portugal senior squad. Koulierakis, Lulli, Vásquez and De Marzi will also depart on international duty. Koné, by contrast, has been spared by France.

Mario Hermoso has become one of the most surprising symbols of Gian Piero Gasperini's tactical revolution at Roma, having turned from a pure defender into a complete player who combines marking solidity with a striker's instinct. He is now an established starter, has earned the coach's full trust, and the club has moved to work on a renewal that would tie him to the giallorossi for the long term. According to Il Corriere dello Sport, his development is one of the masterpieces of Gasperini's work. Before a decisive meeting in July 2025, Hermoso's future looked uncertain. Since then his approach to the role has changed completely: aggressive and alert when defending, he becomes an extra attacker as soon as he crosses the halfway line. The numbers back this up. He has scored seven goals under Gasperini, three of them so far this season, including the strike that unlocked the match against Sassuolo. That output places him among the best goalscoring defenders in Europe, directly behind names such as van Dijk and Querfeld, and far surpasses what he produced in his years at Atletico Madrid. His impact is considerable, in some ways comparable to what Kolasinac had at Gasperini's Atalanta, but enhanced by superior technical quality and a more pronounced goal sense. In his thirteen starts he has, alongside his tackles and interceptions, made 120 entries into the opposition box and produced close to a thousand touches, a level of involvement no other Roma player matches. Gasperini described him as "cold as a number nine". Il Corriere dello Sport reports that such a high level of performance made it inevitable to address his contract. Now that the deadline tied to the Champions League clause has passed, Roma and the player are reportedly very close to an agreement running until 2029, with an option for 2030. Hermoso would also have accepted a reduction in his salary, following the example of senior players such as Mancini, Cristante, Dybala and Pellegrini. The gesture is a strong signal of both parties' desire to continue together.

Gian Piero Gasperini will be without thirteen Roma players when training resumes at Trigoria on Wednesday, after the club's squad scattered across the world for the November international break. Gasperini has dismissed the fixtures as "friendlies or little more", and the break contains no European Championship, World Cup or qualifying matches. Still, the number of players called up is a source of pride for the club, as it means several of Roma's squad are representing the strongest national teams. Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni has recalled Matías Soulé, Leonardo Balerdi and Santiago Castro for friendlies against Uruguay and Costa Rica. It is the first cycle for Argentina, the 2022 World Cup runners-up, without Lionel Messi. Wesley will join the Brazil camp in Singapore today and face the hosts and Japan, according to Daniele Aloisi of Il Messaggero. Roberto Mancini will also rely on Gasperini's players for the Nations League matches against France and Belgium. Italy are hoping to bounce back quickly after another disappointment, and the younger players are expected to lead the recovery. Bryan Cristante has stayed at home for that reason, while Niccolò Pisilli and Daniele Ghilardi will report to Coverciano. Donyell Malen will embrace new Netherlands coach Xavi for the first time. Marten de Roon is also in the Netherlands squad. Rodrigo Mora has been rewarded with a return to the senior Portugal side after a year away, and was part of the Nations League-winning group last time out.

Rodrigo Mora has finally come into his own, cancelling out early doubts within weeks and establishing himself as one of the brightest talents in Gasperini's Roma. Corriere della Sera reports that his rise has exploded recently, overturning the difficulties of his first months and the debate over his transfer cost. His goal against Sassuolo was his third consecutive Serie A goal, following those against Cagliari and Udinese: four goals in total in just 399 minutes, an average of one goal every hundred minutes. He has also been a creative force in the Champions League, providing key assists at Old Trafford against Manchester United and against Real Madrid, while making the most of Dybala's absence to take control of the final third. Behind the breakthrough is Gasperini's total trust. The coach has always believed in the talent of the former Porto player, protecting him when he played less and developing him in the final metres. Mora is now the club's second-highest scorer alongside Pisilli and Soulé, behind only Malen. He has also earned his first call-up to the Portugal senior squad, in what the report describes as the new era after Cristiano Ronaldo. The milestone adds weight to an exciting progression within an ambitious technical and economic project, and the Friedkin Group have a talent of enormous value on their hands, ready to make Giallorossi fans dream. The report's central message is that Mora has gone from a player under scrutiny to one of the most decisive presences in the squad, with a personality and technical freshness that have won over everyone at Trigoria. Corriere della Sera frames his progress as the reward for both the coach's faith and the club's investment, with the young midfielder now taking centre stage with the composure of a natural.

Former Roma striker Roberto Pruzzo has said Mora has around half an hour of energy in him and struggles when the level rises, speaking on Radio Radio Mattino (104.5). Pruzzo said: "Roma go for walks against the smaller teams, like Sassuolo. They could find something more from the market and from the recovery of Dybala, who hasn't played for months. Mora still has about half an hour of energy, and against teams like Sassuolo he goes to town. Then, when the level rises, he struggles more. In these games, however, he manages to excel and is sought out by his team-mates. He can carve out an important role." Pruzzo also revised his view of MATías Hermoso, admitting he had misjudged him. He said: "On Hermoso I have changed my mind: he has rebounded spectacularly, I had got my assessment of him wrong." Pruzzo's remarks came as Roma's form and squad options were being debated across the capital's radio stations, which he described as a phenomenon unmatched elsewhere in Italy. Fellow Radio Radio Mattino pundit Nando Orsi was equally bullish about Roma's title prospects. He said: "At the start of the season I had no doubts about Roma's chances in the Scudetto fight. They are simply confirming the predictions I made a few months ago."

Mario Hermoso has become one of the most surprising symbols of Gian Piero Gasperini's tactical revolution at Roma, having turned from a pure defender into a complete player who combines marking solidity with a striker's instinct. He is now an established starter, has earned the coach's full trust, and the club has moved to work on a renewal that would tie him to the giallorossi for the long term. According to Il Corriere dello Sport, his development is one of the masterpieces of Gasperini's work. Before a decisive meeting in July 2025, Hermoso's future looked uncertain. Since then his approach to the role has changed completely: aggressive and alert when defending, he becomes an extra attacker as soon as he crosses the halfway line. The numbers back this up. He has scored seven goals under Gasperini, three of them so far this season, including the strike that unlocked the match against Sassuolo. That output places him among the best goalscoring defenders in Europe, directly behind names such as van Dijk and Querfeld, and far surpasses what he produced in his years at Atletico Madrid. His impact is considerable, in some ways comparable to what Kolasinac had at Gasperini's Atalanta, but enhanced by superior technical quality and a more pronounced goal sense. In his thirteen starts he has, alongside his tackles and interceptions, made 120 entries into the opposition box and produced close to a thousand touches, a level of involvement no other Roma player matches. Gasperini described him as "cold as a number nine". Il Corriere dello Sport reports that such a high level of performance made it inevitable to address his contract. Now that the deadline tied to the Champions League clause has passed, Roma and the player are reportedly very close to an agreement running until 2029, with an option for 2030. Hermoso would also have accepted a reduction in his salary, following the example of senior players such as Mancini, Cristante, Dybala and Pellegrini. The gesture is a strong signal of both parties' desire to continue together.