Take a glance at the Serie A table right now, and you’ll see our beloved Giallorossi sitting at the top, tied on points with Antonio Conte’s Napoli, with each team winning five of their first six matches. However, they’ve taken very different routes to reach that spot. Napoli has steamrolled opponents, piling up 12 goals while conceding six, while Roma has taken the opposite approach, bagging only seven goals and allowing just two, including a beautiful goal from Moise Kean yesterday in Florence.
While we still hope and expect Gian Piero Gasperini to showcase his attacking flair with La Magica soon, he’s currently adopting a Mourinho-style approach, where pressure, pragmatism, and results are all that matter. It’s a nerve-wracking gambit, but as long as the defense holds firm, it’s an understandable strategy —especially when you have game-changing talents like Matías Soulé at your disposal.
However, yesterday’s victory highlighted the risks of this approach. For large swaths of the match, Roma were befuddled by Fiorentina’s defense, banging their heads against the wall and throwing up their hands (both literally and figuratively) as they struggled to apply pressure on Stefano Pioli’s backline. Clinging to a one-goal lead at halftime, Gasperini decided to deflate the match by milking the clock as much as possible, trying to lull Fiorentina to sleep with sideways pass after sideways pass.
And with nothing cooking in the final third, who could blame him? But, if not for a pair of Fiorentina shots hitting the woodwork and Robin Gosen missing a sitter, we’re looking at a 4-2 defeat instead of a 2-1 victory. The margins have been and will continue to be incredibly thin until Gasperini figures out how to shift this attack into high gear, or really anything higher than neutral.
But, a win is a win and, tenuous or not, Gasperini’s approach has Roma hanging with the heavyweights, so let’s focus on the positives and hand out some halos.
The Saints
Matías Soulé
With a goal and an assist, Soulé delivered another Man of the Match performance early in the season. In Roma’s first six league matches, Soulé leads the way with three goals, two assists, 25 shot-creating actions and 3.0 shots, 2.2 key passes, and 1.3 successful dribbles per match. We used to have a saying about Francesco Totti: Not only was he the straw that stirred the drink, he was the drink itself. So, at least proportionally, Soulé is reaching that same level of importance.
Roma’s meager attack would be nothing without him, and with a beautifully struck ball in the 22nd minute and a pinpoint corner kick in the 30th, the 22-year-old winger propelled the Giallorossi to victory on Sunday.
Bryan Cristante
With many fans bemoaning his inclusion in the starting lineup, let alone wearing the captain’s armband, Cristante stepped up when it mattered most. When discussing Cristante’s post-match sainthood, I usually try to church it up by diving into the nuances of his performance in detail, but, to borrow a dated 90s saying, I can’t front on this one: He’s here because of that goal.
But what a goal it was!
Rushing out to meet Soulé’s corner, Cristante expertly flicked the ball past De Gea, all while his back was to the goal. You gotta give the man his due: that was a beauty.
Bravo, Bryan!
Wesley
While he didn’t threaten the goal directly, Wesley was crucial in the few genuine chances Roma created in the run of play. In 81 minutes, Wesley completed 50% of his crosses, successfully dribbled once from two attempts, and provided two key passes, including a “big chance” in the 35th minute when he flashed the ball across the face of goal to Artem Dovbyk. Only a late jump on the ball from Dovbyk prevented Wesley from getting an actual assist, but it was a smart play from the young Brazilian and a sign of good things to come.
There weren’t any glaring errors yesterday, so we’ll stow away the pitchforks, but our first SIB should be a litmus test in the battle of opportunity cost vs. actual contributions, not to mention the fluctuations of match ratings.
Stuck In Between
Artem Dovbyk
Back in Gasperini’s good graces, the 28-year-old striker rewarded his manager with a notably strange performance. On the positive side, he delivered a sensational one-timed assist on Soulé’s goal, but he also wasted Wesley’s ball in the 35th minute, missing an attempt worth 0.67 xG according to SofaScore. For his efforts, SofaScore slapped a 5.8 match rating on the Ukrainian forward, while WhoScored was a bit more generous, rating his performance at 6.88.
Think of it this way: Roma wouldn’t have won the match without Dobvyk, but that missed chance could have cost the club dearly if the woodwork had been more forgiving to Fiorentina on Sunday.
Splitting hairs? Sure, but thats what this section is all about!
Zeki Celik
The Turkish defender continued his solid start to the season, turning in another quietly strong performance on Sunday. With eight defensive actions (clearances + interceptions + tackles), Celik was Roma’s most active defender, adding nine duels won and seven recoveries to his tally against the Viola. You may not notice him, but that’s the point: he does his job quietly and does it well—nothing more, nothing less.
Check back after the break when Roma faces high-powered Inter Milan. Something tells me we’ll have much more to talk about.
