Things went from bad to worse for the Giallorossi yesterday. Heading into a critical early-season fixture against Como at the Stadio Giuseppe Singaglia without their star keeper, Mile Svilar, who suffered a non-displaced fracture to the little toe on his right foot, and club captain Bryan Cristante, who is battling knee inflammation, Roma’s back was already up against the proverbial wall.
After an electric start to the match, in which Roma looked intent on reversing their fortunes at Como’s picturesque
home, the capital club’s hopes came crashing down early in the second half. In the 53rd minute, after barreling his way through multiple defenders, Donyell Malen suffered the sin of haste, making a rash studs-up challenge on Como full-back Kaiki.
Without batting an eye, referee Michael Fabbri tossed Malen from the match, giving a straight red to Roma’s prolific Dutch forward. Given some of the other challenges that occurred around the league this weekend, Malen was a bit hard done by Fabbri, who didn’t see the end of the match after leaving with an apparent injury in the 68th minute.
Nevertheless, Roma had to forge on for the final third of the match down a man plus seven minutes of stoppage time due to the unexpected refereeing change. With his side at a noticeable disadvantage in the second half, Gian Piero Gasperini pulled all the right cards down the stretch, matching Cesc Fabregas’ tactical tweaks move for move en route to the league’s first scoreless draw since last April.
As one would expect given those circumstances, today’s Sinners & Saints is a bit light on fireworks, but we’ll start with perhaps the most unexpected halo we’ve ever awarded.
The Saints
Pierluigi Gollini
Thrust into the spotlight after Svilar’s freak injury and making his first start since October 2024, Gollini showed no signs of rust yesterday at the Singaglia. While he may never be Svilar’s equal, he put on a damn good impression of Roma’s world-class keeper, making timely runs off the endline—including a beautiful elbow save on a Nico Paz shot inside the six-yard box—and showcasing impressive reflexes, making multiple reaction saves and even tallying one sweeper action.
All told, Gollini made four saves, including two in the box, while preventing 1.25 goals, according to FotMob. If he can live up to this debut, Roma may be able to survive their month without Mile.
Nahuel Molina
Roma’s late-summer signing had arguably his best performance in a Roma shirt on Sunday. Before being subbed off in the 82nd minute, Molina was a menace on the right flank: 90% passing, one chance created, nine defensive actions (including an impressive six tackles won), and hitting on three of four long passes.
If stats aren’t your thing, we’ll let football’s Doppler Radar do the talking. Check out Molina’s heatmap from yesterday’s draw:
Slowly but surely, Molina has solidfied is spot in the wing-back hierarchy, relegating Devyne Rensch and Emmanuele Lulli to reserve roles as we head into the meaty part of the schedule.
Marten de Roon
During his remarkable 11-year run with Atalanta, de Roon was a mainstay for Gasperini, making 440 appearances for La Dea, including an impressive 417 starts. After his controversial move to the real Caput Mundi (controversial to Atalanta fans, anyway), de Roon has been largely used as a second-half substitute for Roma. Operating much like a closer in baseball, Gasp has utilized his longtime colleague to pacify opponents late in the match, leaning on MdR’s poise and tough tackling to close out matches.
Making his first start for the Giallorossi, de Roon didn’t exactly dial the clock all the way back to his Atalanta peak, but he certainly did enough to warrant further starts, even after Cristante returns from his injury.
The Sinners
Donyell Malen
Yes, the straight red was a tad harsh, but it was nevertheless an ill-advised challenge from Roma’s #14. Even before exiting the pitch in the 53rd minute, Malen wasn’t looking particularly sharp, managing only two shots. His 24th-minute attempt inside the area, worth 0.41 xG, sailed harmlessly wide of the mark.
It would be almost impossible for anyone to sustain the level of excellence he’s displayed since arriving in January, so we’ll cut him some slack. Besides, Santiago Castro needs more match time; he’s a dangerous ball striker and a combustible forward (in a good way), but it’s difficult to establish a rhythm when you’re playing sporadically.
Paulo Dybala
It’s not often we point the pitchfork at Dybala, but something is amiss with La Joya’s finishing this season. Case in point: his 6th-minute shot from the middle-right of the area, some 12 yards out. It may not have been the easiest attempt you’ll ever see, but the analytics measured this attempt at 0.37 xG, which shrank to 0.24 xGOT after Dybala’s struck the ball.
You don’t need to be an MIT grad to understand what happened there—Dybala’s attempt actually reduced the likelihood of the ball beating Jean Butez.
Dybala has been sensational in the run of play, beating defenders and creating chances as if he were 26 again, but he’s dropped the ball in front of goal: 29% accuracy, nearly one-third of his shots coming from outside the box, and, perhaps most damning of all, turning 2.02 xG into 0.89 xGOT, a 56% drop in scoring probability between the chances he’s had and the shots he’s produced.
Sooner or later, he’ll turn those results around; he’s simply too good to be this poor in front of goal for much longer, but his profligacy in the area yesterday may have cost Roma two more points.
Stuck In Between
You know the drill, these players did some good but weren’t at their best against Como
Manu Koné
The French midfielder showcased his usual pop in midfield, running like a bat out of hell in the middle of the park, compiling five defensive actions, winning six duels and recovering three balls. With a 77% passing rate and one missed chance, he wasn’t quite as crisp in attack, but overall this was a baseline perfomance for Koné
Evan Ndicka
Ndicka was solid as ever against Como on Sunday, playing with his usual poise and precision. In 90 minutes, the Ivorian chipped in eight defensive actions, while misplacing only one pass and recovering three balls. As many of you have pointed out, in terms of S&S rankings, he’s been a victim of his absurdly high standards, but fell just short yesterday.
Still, as Charlton Heston once said about his beloved firearms, you’ll have to pry Evan Ndicka from my cold, dead hands. He’s already establishing a defensive legacy on par with many of the outstanding center-backs we’ve had the joy of watching over the past 15 to 20 years.
While the Giallorossi should be praised for Sunday’s impressive display of resilience, things will get a lot tougher on Wednesday when they welcome Real Madrid to the Olimpico in what promises to be an emotional return for José Mourinho. Just be sure to cross your fingers for more halos!
