Well, that didn’t go as planned. Roma’s midweek Europa League clash against Viktoria Plzeň was not the easy three points many Romanisti expected; instead, defensive errors and a lack of offensive firepower
mean that the Giallorossi have some serious work to do throughout the rest of the Europa League league phase, while also meaning that Roma have now lost two in a row across all competitions. Even though the Giallorossi are still in Serie A’s top four, this dip in form can’t be brushed off, particularly given Roma’s struggles with getting the ball in the back of the net so far this season.
The hope has to be that tomorrow’s match against Sassuolo gives Gian Piero Gasperini a chance to finally get his strikers going. There’s not a question of talent in Roma’s front line; Artem Dovbyk and Evan Ferguson are two strikers that many a Roma manager would have dreamed of featuring in his starting eleven. Yet strikers are finicky creatures, and it’s clear that for one reason or another, neither Dovbyk nor Ferguson has clicked so far this season. Sassuolo’s eight goals conceded through seven match days include a 2-0 loss to Napoli and a 3-2 loss to Cremonese; hopefully, the Giallorossi can seize on this opportunity and finally make the offense something more than the Matías Soulé show.
What To Watch For
Can the Koné-Cristante Pivot Bring Some Offense Too?
Turning away from the attack and toward the midfield engine room of AS Roma, the pairing of Manu Koné and Bryan Cristante has been about as reliable as you could ask for in terms of stability and progression. However, in a campaign where goals have been hard to come by, Gian Piero Gasperini may need a bit more punch than simply “reliable.” Cristante’s career figures with Roma stand at 17 goals and 16 assists in 239 Serie A appearances, showing he can contribute in the final third—and while it was many years ago, the last time Cristante was managed by Gasperini, he showed himself to be an offensive and defensive force. Back in 2017–18, under Gasperini’s tutelage at Atalanta, Cristante recorded 12 goals and 4 assists in 48 appearances across all competitions. That’s a reminder that when given the freedom to push forward, Cristante can be a genuine goal threat from midfield.
Match Details
Date: October 26th
Kickoff: 15:00 CET/10:00 EDT
Venue: Mapei Stadium, Sassuolo
Referee: Gianluca Manganiello
As for Koné, the Frenchman is officially one of Roma’s most talented players. Through seven Serie A matches this season, Koné has already tallied over 8 progressive carries per 90 minutes and sits among the league’s top five midfielders in total ball recoveries. His ability to move the ball through pressure and win it back when Roma are stretched has made him indispensable in several managers’ setups.
Gasperini’s sides have never been content with midfielders who only break lines. Koné and Cristante need to break games open too, especially if Dovbyk and Ferguson continue to misfire. It’s not ideal, but if Roma’s striekrs can’t score, it will fall on the midfield to shoulder more of the creative and scoring burden. Cristante has proven he can arrive late and punish teams with his timing; Koné, with his blend of strength and precision, looks capable of driving through defenses himself. Against Sassuolo’s leaky back line, Roma needs goals to show its strength doesn’t just lie in defense. If the midfield can get in on the action, it might just reignite the Giallorossi attack.
Can Ferguson’s Promise Become Goals?
When Roma brought in Evan Ferguson over the summer, it felt like a glimpse into the club’s future. Signed from Brighton & Hove Albion on an initial loan with a reported €37 million option to buy, the 21-year-old Irish international looked every bit the modern No. 9: physical, intelligent, and technically sharp. He tore through pre-season, scoring five times in two matches, including a hat-trick that had Romanisti dreaming of the next great striker to grace the Curva Sud (and Artem Dovbyk looking to leave for Milan). But now, as autumn settles over Trigoria, the goals have dried up. Through his first five Serie A appearances, Ferguson has yet to find the back of the net, registering only one assist and an expected goals (xG) rate of 0.18 per 90 minutes.
The numbers don’t tell the whole story — Ferguson’s movement, hold-up play, and chemistry with Matías Soulé have all shown real promise — but they do tell part of it. For all his tidy touches and clever positioning, strikers live and die by their finishing. And while Gasperini has stuck by him, murmurs are already starting to surface back in England that Feguson could leave Rome if he can’t start scoring. That reality adds a layer of urgency to what was supposed to be a more patient development arc (he is twenty-one, after all). The scoring needs to happen sooner rather than later if he wants to successfully make the jump to a big club and stay with Roma for longer than half a season.
There may be no better opponent to change the narrative than Sassuolo. The Neroverdi have consistently shown themselves prone to defensive lapses that make them vulnerable to direct, physical forwards. Gasperini’s system thrives when the striker presses high, drags defenders wide, and finishes ruthlessly. That’s exactly whyFerguson was brought in in the first place. One scrappy goal tomorrow could open the floodgates, and one confident finish could change the course of his season. That’s got to be the hope, at least.
