Roma and Milan Lead Chase for Final Two Champions League Spots

Gian Piero Gasperini and Cesc Fabregas share mutual respect but little affection, with tension between the Roma coach and his Como counterpart having boiled over repeatedly in recent Serie A seasons. The Spanish tactician's boldness has often frustrated other Italian managers, but Gasperini's chief complaint centres on Como's on-field conduct. At their last meeting, Gasperini declined to shake Fabregas's hand after the final whistle, publicly questioning the visitors' behaviour both on and off the pitch. Further exchanges followed in recent days, including Fabregas's tactical demonstration using a tabletop football game to illustrate how to stop Roma. Sunday's fixture by the lake will pit the two clubs in what shapes as a significant clash in the title race. On paper, Roma and Como are bidding for the role of Inter's closest challengers this season. With five league matches played, Roma have accumulated 13 points—a tally Como can at best match at this stage of the campaign. Both sides represent the most credible threats to the defending champions, making their head-to-head encounter a barometer of genuine title credentials. The ingredients for a heated contest are fully in place. October remains early in the season, with much ground still to cover for all contenders, but the intensity of the personal rivalry between Gasperini and Fabregas ensures this will be far more than a routine fixture.

Wesley was one of the standout performers in Roma's campaign last season, playing a decisive role in the drive to third place, but the Brazilian winger has endured a tougher start to the 2026-27 campaign, hampered by physical issues that have affected his consistency and output. During the international break, he chose to remain at Trigoria and work intensively with Gasperini rather than accept a Brazil call-up, prioritising his recovery ahead of Sunday's away trip to Como. The Como fixture carries particular weight for Wesley. In December last season at the Olimpico, he decided the match with a brilliant volley beneath the Curva Sud. In the return game, however, Como staged a comeback and Wesley was sent off for a second yellow card in a highly disputed incident—the contact with Diao was barely perceptible, perhaps only a slight touch involving Rensch. Those moments are now behind him. With just one assist in five league matches this season, Sunday offers the ideal platform for redemption. Roma need the true Wesley, and the winger has everything required to become a decisive force on the flank within Gasperini's system.

Donyell Malen has been awarded the Italian Professional Footballers' Association (AIC) Player of the Month award for September, adding to his Player of the Month honour for the August–September period in Serie A. The Dutch forward has maintained extraordinary form at the start of the 2026–27 season, continuing the trajectory that ended his previous campaign with seven goals in the final seven matches of 2025–26. He has now scored six goals in Roma's first five matches of the current season. Malen's September standout performance came in a hat-trick display against Fiorentina, which the article describes as a programmatic statement of intent. The opening goal came from a dribble into the box followed by a backheel pass, the second was a left-footed strike under the crossbar, and the third arrived as a tap-in from Paulo Dybala's outside assist. He added a brace in Roma's first-half demolition of Lecce and scored again against Torino while sliding to the ground. His form has generated the sensation that accompanies elite peaks—the impression that every touch might be decisive, and anticipation with every possession. The article emphasises that Malen's effectiveness cannot be reduced to any single measurable attribute. He is not the fastest player in Serie A, nor does he possess the best shot or greatest power in acceleration; rather, his intelligence places him consistently one step ahead of opposing defenders. His ability to find space and time within the visual blind spots of defenders is described as exceptional, the article arguing that few players in the league possess his capacity to be hidden in plain sight. His rivals for the September award included Lautaro Martínez, Davide Frattesi and Giorgi Kvernadze.