After last weekend’s demoralizing 5-2 loss to Inter Milan at the San Siro, which was preceded by Italy’s failure to qualify for the World Cup for the third straight time, there wasn’t much joy in the Eternal City. Still, despite that ugly loss to Inter, Roma remained in the thick of a three-team race for Serie A’s fourth and final Champions League Place, albeit in a slightly more disadvantegeous position now; four points behind fourth place Como.
With Como and Juventus each facing difficult fixtures
this weekend, Roma had a chance to keep the heat on their competition, if only they could handle their business against 20th-place Pisa today at the Olimpico. As always, the Giallorossi entered a pivotal fixture beset by injuries and clouded in controversy, with Gian Piero Gasperini, the Friekdins, and even Claudio Ranieri offering conflicting accounts of the events that brought them together and supporting markedly different paths forward.
That level of noise is nothing new for Roma, of course, but with the Champions League remaining just out of their reach the past few seasons, it carries added weight. To filter out the mishegoss, Roma needed a clean and decisive victory over Pisa today. A nail-biter that required a lucky bounce or a miraculous setpiece wasn’t going to cut it this evening; Roma needed total dominance.
And that’s precisely what they got, thanks to Donyell Malen, who entered the match with seven league goals and left with 10!
Goal #1
Okay, I guess Roma got a little lucky here, thanks to Antonio Caracciolo’s poor attempt at clearing the ball, but don’t let that detract from Malen’s work on this goal. After picking up the loose ball, the Dutchman stayed ahead of Caracciolo, headed the ball down to himself, and then cut in between two defenders before curling the ball low and away at the opposite post. It was the latest example of what Malen brings to Roma: quick thinking, quick feet and an even quicker shot release.
The 40-minute interval between goals was not devoid of activity; however, with just six shots combined on goal, neither Roma nor Pisa was making history, so we’ll move on to Malen’s second goal.
Goal #2
Malen will have to share the credit for this goal with a few of his teammates. Thanks to a series of quick one-touch passes, Zeki Çelik, Deyvne Rensch, and Lorenzo Pellegrini were able to keep the play alive in the six-yard box, setting up Malen for a tap-in goal. Rensch and Pellegrini did exceptionally well to keep the ball moving while they were being closed about by the Pisa defense—good stuff all around!
While a two-goal lead heading into the break is typically safe, Pisa was fighting for their Serie A lives, so you could reasonably expect them to be more aggressive in the second half. Mile Svilar made some key saves in the final 45 minutes while the likes of Angeliño, Robino Vaz, and Lorenzo Venturino got some run, but we’ll end this recap with Malen’s third goal—Serie A’s first hattrick of the season.
Goal #3
You’ll have to excuse me here. Yes, Malen notched the league’s first hat-trick in 14 months, but as an unabashed Matías Soulé lover, I have to start with that pass! After picking up the ball on the other side of the midfield stripe, Soulé charged headlong into the right channel before easing up, allowing Malen to make his run off the last defenders. And while his pass was a tad light, it had just enough run to allow Malen to to scoop it up and avoid the defense before beating Adrian Semper for the third time.
Incredibly, Malen’s 10 goals place him third in the capocannoniere race, trailing Como’s Tasos Douvikas (11) and Inter’s Lautaro Martinez (16). And he’s done all that in only 12 games—a marriage made in heaven.
Final Thoughts
With all due apologies for the brevity of this recap, what else could we possibly talk about other than Malen’s hat-trick? The man has simply been unstoppable since arriving from Aston Villa in January. With a full season under his belt and some new summer signings to complement him next season, he could make a run at 25 goals.
No matter what happens, Roma achieved the only objective that mattered tonight: three points. Now we just have to cross our fingers and hope that Como and Juventus falter this weekend, potentially opening up a mad dash to the finish line next month.
Up Next
Roma hosts Atalanta next Saturday.
