Tonetto on Roma's strong start: Gasperini's work is visible, but Inter still favourites

Roma are in sharper defensive form than Real Madrid ahead of their Champions League meeting, according to a statistical comparison of the two sides' starts to the 2026-27 season. Gian Piero Gasperini's Roma have conceded just 3 goals, while José Mourinho's Real Madrid have already reached 8. The giallorossi are conceding an average of 0.6 goals per match against Madrid's 1.1, and have kept three clean sheets compared to the Spanish side's one shutout. Beyond the raw goal tallies, Roma's defensive solidity is being built on aggressive ball recovery and contest-winning. The team produces 13.8 interceptions per match—almost double Real Madrid's 7.4—and averages 20.6 tackles per game against Madrid's 14.9. These figures reflect two fundamentally different approaches to defending, though Gasperini's Roma are avoiding easy judgements about overall defensive quality by supporting their press with possession control. The giallorossi hold an average of 57.6% possession, higher than Madrid's 52.4%, allowing them to construct their solidity not solely through defensive labour but also through their ability to dominate the ball throughout matches. The statistical picture Roma have built early in the season—three goals conceded against eight, three clean sheets against one, 0.6 goals per game against 1.1—shows a team that has mastered ball recovery, duels and restraint. The underlying work reveals Roma's foundation in this opening phase: the capacity to win the ball back consistently, compete physically, and above all concede very little to opponents. The coming Champions League fixture will provide a completely different level of examination for Gasperini's side.

Cagliari have made a striking start to the 2026-27 season, sitting fourth in Serie A a point off the league summit with the best defensive record in the division, having conceded just two goals in five games. Under Fabio Pisacane, they are employing a compact, vertically-focused approach that eschews high pressing and possession-heavy football in favour of a 4-5-1 shape that cramps the middle of the pitch and allows rapid transitions. In Daniel Maldini and Jacopo Fazzini, the side have two young attackers capable of operating centrally or drifting wide, while Elia Caprile, the young goalkeeper, is leading the league for save percentage and anchoring a stubborn backline. The team's success reflects the kind of squad construction that aligns with Roberto Mancini's vision for the Italian national team setup. Cagliari's midfield has been the foundation of their rise: Harry Winks, 30, has rediscovered form and marshalled proceedings with his passing and positional discipline, freeing Alessandro Romano to develop his game in the middle of the park. Romano's loan move from Roma is being made permanent at an obligation fee of €6.5 million, and his performances already appear to justify the outlay. In Caprile, Romano, Fazzini and Maldini, Pisacane has assembled a young Italian core driving the club towards unexpected heights. While their defensive solidity has been the bedrock of their league position, their struggles in the final third suggest vulnerabilities could emerge as the campaign progresses. Nevertheless, the article indicates Cagliari are well-placed to finish significantly higher than their 14th-place finish last season, with European qualification now a genuine possibility.

Roma enter a critical period from 11 October that will reveal whether their depth can match their starting XI. Between the away trip to Como and the home fixture against Sassuolo on 7 November, the Giallorossi will play nine matches in 28 days—six in Serie A and three in the UEFA Champions League—at an average of one game every three days. Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini has built his team around a recognisable core of first-choice players, but that group will no longer be enough. The test will determine whether those who have played less can step up without a noticeable drop in performance. Through the first five matchdays, the numbers reveal Gasperini's structural priorities. Goalkeeper Mile Svilar has not missed a minute in the league; Bryan Cristante has played 424 minutes, Mario Hermoso 419, Paulo Dybala 407 and Gianluca Mancini 392. Eight players have exceeded 300 minutes, forming the nucleus around which the team has built its current lead. Donyell Malen has scored six goals in five league matches and become the technical reference point of the attack, while Dybala has contributed four assists. Cristante, Hermoso and Mancini have provided near-absolute continuity and reliability. The midfield partnership of Cristante and Manu Koné has been the reference pairing, with different but complementary characteristics, while Marten de Roon and Niccolò Pisilli have seen far less action. De Roon knows Gasperini's football intimately and can guarantee balance and reading of play, but has been used mainly in brief spells; Pisilli brings dynamism and runs forward but must prove he can perform when the opponent's quality rises. Matches against Real Madrid, Napoli and Manchester United will inevitably create minutes for both. The defence faces similar pressures. Mancini and Hermoso have been almost untouchable, but the competition behind them is abundant: Leonardo Balerdi, Daniele Ghilardi and Konstantinos Koulierakis must transform from alternatives into genuinely interchangeable options. Ghilardi has already accumulated 142 league minutes, while Koulierakis has been used far less despite the summer investment. In Gasperini's system, where defenders are asked to accept constant individual duels and play far from their goal, changing a centre-back is never a neutral substitution—the player entering must have fully absorbed the line's timing, aggression and mechanics. On the flanks, rotations will be equally unavoidable. Wesley has been heavily used, young Emanuele Lulli has been a major surprise, and Nahuel Molina has collected 216 Serie A minutes with two starts. Devyne Rensch has found the least space but has always proved reliable. In attack, Matías Soulé has already broken down the distinction between starter and reserve with 279 minutes, three starts, two goals and an assist. Rodrigo Mora has 171 league minutes and a goal across two starts but has seen his space diminish. Santiago Castro has played little and never started in the league, while Lorenzo Pellegrini arrives after a long absence from official matches and must regain rhythm and standing. The fixture list permits no simple calculations. Como, Real Madrid, Genoa, Slovan Bratislava, Napoli, Cagliari, Udinese, Manchester United and Sassuolo in less than a month means there are no real matches in which to field eleven reserves and rest everyone else. Gasperini must continually shuffle the cards, retaining six or seven men from the core structure each time and progressively introducing others. Roma has shown a competitive first eleven so far; in the next four weeks it must prove it has something more—sixteen or eighteen players capable of sustaining the same level. If the goal is to stay in the highest reaches of Serie A while being competitive in the Champions League, the quality of alternatives becomes almost as important as that of the starters.