Roma close to Molina deal: Atlético accept offer, terms agreed with right-back

Donyell Malen is preparing to return to England as a key figure, having been one of the most successful winter signings in Roma's history since joining from the club in January 2026. The Dutch forward has scored 22 Serie A goals in the 2026 calendar year, making him the top scorer across Europe's five major leagues, ahead of Harry Kane and Lamine Yamal. Tonight's clash at Old Trafford could have featured Malen wearing a different shirt. According to Corriere della Sera, in 2024 Ruud van Nistelrooy, then assistant coach at Manchester United, suggested Malen's name to the Red Devils' hierarchy while he was still at Borussia Dortmund. The English club did not follow up on the proposal, and Malen later moved to Aston Villa before joining Roma. Under Gian Piero Gasperini, his impact has been devastating for the Giallorossi. The forward will face the side that could have bought him two years ago. Tonight's match kicks off at 21:00, and given the form he has shown in Roma colours, Malen could leave Manchester with plenty of regrets.

Donyell Malen has become one of the key figures in Gian Piero Gasperini's Roma, but a link to Manchester United, Roma's Champions League opponents, has come to light. As reported by Corriere della Sera, Ruud van Nistelrooy, then an assistant coach at Manchester United, had identified Malen as a possible reinforcement for the Red Devils' attack in 2024. Malen was playing for Borussia Dortmund at the time. The suggestion never led to a transfer. Malen stayed away from Manchester and his career later took him to Roma. The Dutch forward has since become a central figure in the club's attacking system, with his ability to attack the depth of the defence, move across the front line and find the net making him one of the squad's main outlets. He has stood out not only for his consistent goalscoring but also for his contribution in the more difficult games, often influencing the result. Those qualities explain why Van Nistelrooy had considered him for Manchester United, and they are now an important weapon for Roma as they prepare to face the Premier League club in the Champions League.

Donyell Malen has had a devastating impact at Roma and is arguably the best winter signing in the club's history, according to the report. He is currently the top goalscorer in Europe in 2026, ahead of Harry Kane and Lamine Yamal. The Dutch forward could have moved to England a few years ago, when Manchester United were interested, Corriere della Sera reveals. His compatriot Ruud van Nistelrooy, then an assistant coach at the Red Devils in 2024, pushed for Malen's name while he was playing for Borussia Dortmund. The move never materialised, and tonight Bobby could reignite the regrets.

Gian Piero Gasperini says Roma's defeat at Old Trafford will teach his side more than the comeback loss to Real Madrid. Roma lost 3-2 to Manchester United in the fourth matchday of the Champions League league phase, after a penalty and a second-half turnaround that swung the game. Roma had dominated the first half and could even have scored a third. Gasperini drew a clear distinction between the two games. He said: "I think it was a different match. Against Real, everything happened in the last 7-8 minutes, with set pieces, from a corner, without other obvious signals. Here it was different after the penalty, which gave them great momentum. We were not able to hold on to that push." Asked whether the goals conceded so close together were down to chance, he replied: "No, there is no chance involved, but the situations are different. In this evening's case, unlike the first half, we were no longer able to have the same strength against their attackers, who were the ones giving us the most difficulty. Then there is the fact that the first goal came from a penalty and the second came after an injury to one of ours. Perhaps it was a moment when the match had rebalanced a little. It's fair that Manchester have a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes of great pressure. If you get through those moments and those episodes unscathed, maybe in the end you win the match too." Alessandro Florenzi asked whether the defeat was part of the team's growth or hurt more than the Real Madrid result, and whether Nahuel Molina could have played to bring international experience. Gasperini said: "Yes, Molina could have played, because as you rightly say he is an international player. But this evening Rensch had started very well, he was having an excellent game. Then he had this injury and I brought on Lulli. Afterwards there were no longer the conditions to make a change. Wesley had an excellent defensive game, and so it went. That was not the reason for the defeat." On the broader question, he added: "I think they are two different matches. Honestly, I believe this match taught us more than the one against Real Madrid. The game with Real was the result of an unexpected ending. This evening we experienced certain moments that can happen in Europe, in environments as important as Old Trafford. We must absolutely learn from them for the future." Gasperini also addressed the second half, when Manchester changed their system, pressed high and stopped Roma playing. He said: "They changed something, they had nothing left to lose and started pressing high. But it was not only that. We should have played in a slightly different way, perhaps using some long balls to take them away from our half. Essentially, though, we could no longer keep track of their attacking players." He added: "We perhaps should have resorted to a few more stoppages and a few more challenges, competitively speaking. We suffered their momentum a little too much, which was then clearly amplified by the penalty and later by the 2-2 episode." Asked about Roma's failure to stop the bleeding in difficult moments, following Mbuemo's double hit off the woodwork after the penalty and the 3-2 goal that came immediately after Leonardo Balerdi's error at 2-2, he said: "Yes, that's how it is. At least this evening it was. It also happened something similar against Real Madrid. Perhaps there is a dip caused by disappointment, when you see a win slip away that you thought you had in your grasp. Against Real Madrid we had it in our grasp, this evening we were still in a good position. Perhaps these episodes mean the team must learn to take some of the pressure of the result off itself, at all costs. It is not only that, although of course the result matters. But this is a match that will surely serve us more than others in order to grow."

Gian Piero Gasperini has spoken after Roma lost to Manchester United in their Champions League fourth-round fixture, a defeat in which a penalty gave the English side real momentum and Roma were unable to hold that surge. Gasperini was asked whether the match echoed the late collapse against Real Madrid. He rejected the comparison: "No, I think it was a different match. Against Real everything happened in the last 8 minutes from set pieces, and there were not such clear signs as there were today, especially after the penalty, which certainly gave them momentum, and we were not able to hold on to that push." On the pattern of conceding goals in quick succession at moments when a result should be managed, Gasperini said there was no coincidence but that the situations were different. "Tonight we did not have the strength against their attackers in the second half. The first goal for them came from this penalty, then came this mistake for the second, at a moment when the match had become a little more balanced. There were those 15 minutes of Manchester pressure, and if you can get through those episodes unscathed, you might even win it." Asked whether this defeat hurt more than the Real Madrid result, Gasperini said: "It was a match. It taught me more than the one against Real Madrid, which was the result of an unexpected ending. In certain moments in Europe, and in environments this strong, it makes us draw something out for the future." Gasperini was also asked whether Mario Molina could have offered the international presence needed in such moments. He said: "Yes, Molina could have come on tonight, but Rensch started very well, then he suffered an injury and I brought on Lulli. After that there were no longer the conditions to make a change. Wesley had an excellent game defensively, and so it went." On why Roma lost the personality they showed in the first half, Gasperini said: "They had nothing left to lose, so they pressed high, and that was to be expected. We had to play a little differently, also using long balls to take them away from our half. Essentially we were no longer able to hold their runners, so they had the better of the pressing and of their attacking moves. This caused us problems, and perhaps we needed a few more stoppages in terms of competitiveness. We were somewhat overwhelmed by their momentum, which was clearly amplified by the penalty and by the episode of the 2-2."

Gian Piero Gasperini spoke to Sky Sport after Roma lost to Manchester United at Old Trafford, and he said the match had taught the club more than the defeat to Real Madrid. Asked whether the late collapse against Real Madrid differed from this game, he said: "I think it was a different match. With Real everything happened in the last 7-8 minutes with set pieces, on a corner, without other clear signs. Here instead it was like this after the penalty, which gave them great momentum. We could not keep that push." Asked whether conceding goals so close together was a concern, he replied: "There is no coincidence, but the situations are different. Tonight, unlike the first half, we did not have the strength on their attackers, who were the ones creating problems. The first goal came from that penalty, then the injury on the second goal... The match had rebalanced a little, and that's fine. If you manage to come out unscathed from these episodes, maybe you even win." Roma's second-half collapse came after Manchester United took the initiative, with the penalty and the 2-2 equaliser shifting the momentum. Gasperini said the team had dominated the first half but could not hold that level after the break, and that the match was a valuable lesson for Europe. Asked whether Nahuel Molina could have helped with his experience, Gasperini said: "Molina could have been involved, he is an international player. But tonight Rensch started very well, then he had the injury and I brought on Lulli. There were no longer conditions to change. Wesley had an excellent game defensively. That is not the reason. I think it was a different match from Real, and it taught us more. Against Real it was the result of an unexpected ending. From this match, at certain moments, in Europe and in stadiums like Old Trafford, we take something out that will certainly serve us for the future." Asked about the second-half struggles, Gasperini said: "They had nothing left to lose and pressed us high. That was to be expected, but we had to play in a slightly different way, using long balls and taking them away from our half. Essentially we could no longer keep track of their men, so they had the upper hand in the pressing and in their attacking moves. This created some problems for us. Perhaps competitively we needed to resort to a few more stoppages and tackles. We somewhat absorbed their momentum, amplified by the penalty and the 2-2 episode. This prevented us from seeing the match through." He added that Roma had to stop the flow of goals, pointing to the double goalpost hit by Mbeumo after the penalty and the 3-2 that came straight after the 2-2. "That is how it was tonight, and against Real Madrid too. Perhaps there is a dip in disappointment, you see a win slipping away that against Real you had in hand and tonight was well on its way. The team perhaps has to shake off the pressure of getting a result at all costs. This is a match we needed, certainly more than the others." In his press conference, Gasperini said: "Yes, matches last 90 minutes, and when they risked more by raising the tempo we did not find the right answers. In these grounds it is fair to concede a little, you cannot play 90 minutes like the first half, but we could have done more. These little penalties, though, we hoped would no longer be around, in Italy but we see them in Europe. It is something that annoys. On the second goal we certainly made a mistake that stopped us from taking the result, but we must also look at what we need to do better in the second half." On his team's mentality he said: "We lost our reference point with the attackers, we were not good at stopping them and it was difficult to create play, and we had a bit of a drop. With the changes at the back it looked more balanced, but there were the episodes that changed the game." Asked about the long road ahead, he said: "To compete in Europe, certainly yes, but matches like this must leave you something. We could have contested better, physically there were moments when our challenge was no longer that of the first half, and it became difficult to create. This is a match that will serve us a great deal, when we meet Real or teams like that these moments come, you cannot dominate 90 minutes. We must become stronger in these aspects, including competitively." Gasperini confirmed that Mora is fine and that Rensch is the only injured player. Asked whether Gollini will return on Saturday, he said: "I don't know, we'll see."