As they have throughout the season, Roma bounced back from a brief dip in form—marked this time by a frustrating draw against Milan and a defeat to Udinese—by securing a clean, well-organized victory.
This time, they left nothing to chance, outshooting Cagliari 5-1 and using a Donyell Malen brace to power past the Islanders in a dominant 2-0 victory.
While Roma remains stuck in 5th place, today’s victory puts the Giallorossi level on points with 4th-place Juventus and sets up a massive six-pointer against 3rd-place Napoli on Sunday. However, before we fret about the Derby del Sole and the Partnopei, here are a few quips from Gasperin’s post-match presser with Sky Sport.
We played an excellent match. We had a remarkable pace in the first half.”
“This team always responds, and they did so after the defeat against Udine. It’s a shame we didn’t double our lead in the first half, because after that, the games remain open.”
“We have to be good at supporting him [Malen], serving him well. He’ll score a lot of goals. His characteristics are difficult to maintain; he has a vast repertoire. Is he like Van Basten? He was different. Like Vialli, he has this ability to free himself and attack deep.”
“We always try to be on par with our rivals; we’re there. They all have very skilled attacks, just go and watch them. It’s not easy for us to play against these teams. We have the hope and desire to grow in attack. Malen gives us much more. We hope to recover Dybala, Hermoso, Koné, and the injured players. To achieve certain goals, it’s clear you need a prolific attack.”
A two-nil win over Cagliari at home may not be an affair to remember, but today’s victory was a tremendous boost to Roma’s top-four chances. No, let’s hope for a miracle in Napoli next weekend. But if you missed today’s match, please enjoy the extended highlights.
