A week after a frustrating road loss to Juventus, Roma bounced back with a resounding 3-1 victory over Genoa
. By avoiding the distraction of Daniele De Rossi’s emotional return to the Stadio Olimpico (as an opponent, which will never feel normal) and putting the Grifoni on the back foot immediately, Gian Piero Gasperini’s group closed out 2025 on a high note and leaped back into fourth place, one point ahead of Juve.By reaching the three-goal mark, Roma ended a run of frustrating performances in which
the capital club had scored only three goals in their previous four matches. Admittedly, all three of Roma’s goals required a bit of luck to find the back of the net, but the hesitation and uncertainty that had plagued the club over the past month were absent on Monday, pointing to better days ahead.
With that in mind, let’s pass out some halos!
The Saints
Jan Ziółkowski
We’ll set aside the goal scorers and playmakers for a moment and give top billing to Roma’s youngest player. On physical appearance alone, the 20-year-old Polish defender—with his 6’5” frame, long limbs, and smooth gait—cuts a Dean Huijsen figure on the pitch. However, against Genoa, JZ backed that up with a performance reminiscent of the Dutch/Spanish maestro.
Disarming De Rossi’s side with swift and decisive defending (16 defensive actions, including eight clearances and 14/17 duels won) and precise passing (89% overall, 80% on long passes), Ziółkowski was remarkably efficient yesterday, showing poise and efficiency that belied his age.
And check out this lovely bit of skill on Soulé’s goal, where he settled and redirected a high-arching clearance in one fell swoop, even as he was shoved in the opposite direction.
Matías Soulé
Although he played only 57 minutes yesterday, Soulé made life miserable for Genoa on Monday: two shots on goal (both on target), one tackle, two interceptions, three shot-creating actions, four recoveries, and, of course, a clever strike to open the scoring in the 14th minute.
He’s a joy to watch… and he’s barely scratched the surface of his talents.
Manu Koné
The French midfielder was his typically spectacular self yesterday, cutting through the midfield like a hot knife through butter, racking up twice as many progressive passing yards as any other midfielder on the pitch, playing a match-high six balls into the final third, carrying three into the final third, recovering six, and notching his first Serie A goal of the season. He would have added a second goal if he hadn’t been dinged for a soft foul on the Genoa keeper during a goal-line scramble.
Evan Ferguson
The Irishman turned in an interesting 84-minute performance against Genoa, leading to one of the larger match-rating schisms we’ve seen between WhoScored (7.96) and SofaScore (6.3). Mystery metrics aside, the much-maligned striker was effective in front of goal, scoring one goal (admittedly the softest tap-in you’ll ever see), setting up another, and generating three shot-creating actions and four progressive carries.
Gasperini’s protestations aside, Ferguson seems to be finding his footing in Roma’s attack, little by little. We’ll soon find out whether he’ll continue that trajectory with the Giallorossi, but you can certainly see why he’s such an intriguing player.
Roma’s lowest-rated players combined for fewer than 30 minutes on the pitch, so we’ll skip the pitchforks for today and end things in the muddied middle ground between sinner and saint.
Stuck In Between
Gianluca Mancini/Mario Hermoso/Daniele Ghilardi
We’ll lump Roma’s remaining center-backs into our SIB category because, while they didn’t shine as brightly as Ziółkowski, they were still effective in limiting Genoa to only four chances in the run of play. Ghilardi was particularly strong in his 16-minute cameo, contributing seven defensive actions, including three clearances.
With Ziółkowski’s rise and Evan Ndicka’s eventual return from the Africa Cup of Nations, Ghilardi may struggle to find playing time, so let’s hope those whispers of a January dry loan come to fruition.
Paulo Dybala
La Joya may not have contributed any goal-scoring actions, but he ran a full 90 minutes—a feat in itself, given his muscular issues this season. Still, Dybala managed two shots on goal, generated two shot-creating actions, played four balls into the final third, and even recovered four balls.
