It was more of the same for Gian Piero Gasperini’s group yesterday in Sassuolo. On the positive side, Mile Svilar and friends kept their league-leading fifth clean sheet of the season, while Paulo Dybala
delivered a timely and surprisingly difficult match-winner early in the first half. However, Roma’s penchant for missing chances was on full display, as the club missed a total of three big chances against Fabio Grosso’s team on Sunday.
Still, a win is a win. And thanks to yesterday’s bum squeaker, Roma joined Napoli at the top of the table with 18 points through their first eight matches—it would be great if Roma were achieving this with a flurry of goals, but who are we to argue with results?
With that in mind, and before we fret about Parma on Wednesday, let’s pass out some halos!
The Saints
Paulo Dybala
Dybala’s days as a 90-minute superstar are done and dusted, but La Joya made the most of his 65 minutes on Sunday: Two shots (one on target), three key passes (including one big chance created), 14 balls into the final third, and of course, the match-winning goal—a difficult follow-up attempt that Dybala chased down and lashed into the net with his weaker foot.
Even in a reduced role, Dybala is a game-changer.
Gianluca Mancini
Bearing battle scars on his forehead, Mancini once again threw caution to the wind with a fiery performance against Sassuolo. In 90 minutes, Mancini was a force at the back, chipping in two tackles, two clearances, six recoveries, and blocking two shots, both of which occurred in or near the six-yard box. He also won six of 12 duels and completed 80% of his passes.
Evan Ndicka
The Ivorian international continued to assert himself as one of Europe’s top defenders with another quiet but effective performance: five clearances, one tackle, eight recoveries, and 94% passing accuracy, including 80% of his long balls. With Jan Ziolkowski earning Gasperini’s trust and Daniele Ghilardi…uh, existing… there should be plenty of opportunities for Ndicka to rest, especially after he played every league minute last season and even more so with AFCON starting in early 2026.
Until then, Ndicka remains Roma’s iron man, and let’s all be thankful for that.
Manu Koné
As one of two Konés on the pitch last night, joining Sassuolo’s Ismael Koné, the Frenchman left little doubt as to who was the superior player, turning in another dynamic, stat-sheet-filling performance. In 90 minutes, Koné took 61 touches, provided three key passes, pulled off one successful dribble from two attempts, and completed 45 of 47 passes, including three of four long balls. Behind the ball, Koné contributed two clearances, one block, and two interceptions.
Another ho-hum, I can do almost anything on the pitch performance from the 24-year-old.
Mile Svilar
Goalkeepers are always tricky to dissect statistically, especially when the opponent only places one shot on target, but Svilar had every angle covered against Sassuolo, denying the Neroverdi’s only attempt and making one high claim on Sunday. With Roma’s margin for error razor thin, having a keeper as capable as Svilar at your disposal makes everything else easier.
Wesley
I’ll admit that he was the toughest decision here. After bemoaning Roma’s finishing for the past six weeks, watching Wesley miss three chances, including two big chances, factored heavily in our initial S&S judgment—the opportunity to put the match away was there, and he failed to capitalize. However, if we look at things more logically, we see that two of Wesley’s three “misses” were either saved or blocked, so it’s not as if he was firing shots willy-nilly.
Besides, he was arguably Roma’s most effective player on Sunday: 13 duels won, 11 defensive actions (including six tackles won), eight recoveries, two key passes and one accurate cross—Roma’s only successful cross of the evening. How’s that for depressing?
In the absence of glaring errors and with the rest of the performances being rather drab or otherwise unnoteworthy, we’ll keep today’s S&S short, but check back with us after the midweek match against Parma!
