Rizzitelli backs Malen over Lautaro ahead of Roma-Inter clash

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 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.

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 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.