Roma's 10-year curse at the Olimpico: the Inter taboo awaiting Gasperini

Rodrigo Mora has been rewarded with a place in the starting line-up at Udine, four days after he came off the bench to put Roma back ahead against Cagliari, and he repaid the faith by scoring again. Gian Piero Gasperini has handed the Portuguese a first-team shirt, and Mora is responding with goals. Up to this point Mora had produced almost all of his impact from the substitutes' bench. He scored against Lecce, set up Malen against Real Madrid, and scored and assisted against Cagliari. Against Cagliari, Roma had been pegged back to 2-2 in the 81st minute. Mora then headed the new lead and created the move that led to Malen's goal for 4-2, as Marco Juric notes in La Repubblica. The 22-year-old was bought from Porto for 25 million euros, a figure the Italian report describes as currently standing. The switch to the starting XI marks a new phase. Mora is no longer simply a surprise weapon off the bench; he now has to confirm his form. In a squad built to win immediately, with Dybala and Soulé ahead of him in the pecking order, his step up is arguably the most demanding one. Gasperini continues to rely on his strongest players, but he is also widening the group of players he trusts. In short, Mora's start at Udine is both a reward and a test, and the Roma coach is showing that his trust extends beyond his established first-choice players.

Roma routed Udinese 5-2 in Udine, and Udinese coach Runjaic is reportedly close to the sack, with D'Aversa and Zanetti named as possible replacements. Roma have scored 28 goals in 10 matchdays, the best attack in Serie A, and have a goal difference of +18. Their last Serie A defeat came in April, at Inter. The numbers stand out further: Roma have seven more points than at the same stage last season against the same opponents, and 14 different players have scored for them. Malen has 11 goals in 12 appearances and 811 minutes across league and cup games. Gasperini's side were already 4-0 up at half-time, and Roma's second-half display was somewhat sluggish, with goals from Zaniolo and Palma spoiling the scoreline. Unai Gomez came close to making it 3-4 six minutes from time, which irritated Gasperini on the bench. Roma wasted several counter-attacks before Ghilardi, scoring his first goal in a Roma shirt, sealed the win deep into injury time. Gasperini said: "Mi rivedo completamente nei concetti di gioco della mia squadra. Questo è un gruppo fantastico che ha grande voglia di migliorarsi." Stoppini wrote in Corriere della Sera that Runjaic's position is hanging by a thread and that the sacking could come before Friday's match against Venezia. Roma's next test is on Tuesday, away at Manchester.

Roma will not return to the capital after their away win in the league, and have instead gone straight on to Manchester for Tuesday evening's Champions League clash with Manchester United at Old Trafford. To keep travel to a minimum, the club decided to stay in the Friuli region after the victory at the Bluenergy Stadium. Gian Piero Gasperini's side spent the night in Friuli and will hold a light recovery session at the Friulian club's training centre. The squad will then travel by coach to Trieste in the afternoon before flying to England. The trip is effectively a mini training camp designed to tighten the group and avoid wasting physical energy, according to Il Tempo. Paulo Dybala is set to miss the trip's main assignment: unless he recovers in extremis, the Argentine forward will be ruled out of Tuesday's match. Sporting director Tony D'Amico backed a cautious approach before the game, saying: "Dybala needs a few more days, we will see mmidweek." Gasperini echoed that line, admitting that a return before the international break for Dybala, Koné and Svilar is a difficult goal, to be assessed day by day. The eve-of-match schedule includes Gasperini's press conference at 18:20, accompanied by a player, followed by a rehearsal on the Old Trafford pitch.