Roma’s next adjustment may begin before the second half even starts. Gian Piero Gasperini is considering bringing his players back onto the pitch a few minutes early against Como, using short ball exercises to keep minds sharp and prevent the early-restart lapses that have troubled the Giallorossi.
A concern in the opening minutes after the interval
The issue is not being treated as a crisis, but it has become a clear point of attention at Trigoria. Roma have looked vulnerable immediately after half-time, conceding three goals in the relevant early-second-half periods across six games involving Atalanta and Inter in Serie A and Fenerbahce in the Champions League.
Those moments have been particularly frustrating because they followed strong first-half performances. A brief loss of intensity after the break has made the following stages of those matches more difficult than they needed to be.
- Gasperini and his staff have identified the half-time transition as an area requiring work.
- The proposed solution is for Roma to return to the grass ahead of schedule.
- Players would complete focused touches and simple exercises with the ball before the restart.
- The aim is to preserve concentration, rather than make the earlier return a disciplinary measure.
The thought is straightforward: Roma should resume with the same alertness they show at kick-off, rather than needing several minutes to regain their rhythm or immediately relying on changes from the bench.
Numbers that have followed Roma across seasons
The first 15 minutes of the second half had already been examined closely last season. Roma conceded 12 times between the 46th and 60th minutes in Serie A, the Coppa Italia and the Europa League, suggesting that physical and mental energy after an intense opening 45 minutes can become a recurring concern.
- Serie A: Torino at 59 minutes, Udinese at 49, Juventus at 47, Genoa at 52, Como at 59, Parma at 47.
- Inter scored twice in that spell, in the 52nd and 54th minutes.
- Coppa Italia: Torino found the net in the 52nd minute.
- Europa League: Panathinaikos scored in the 58th minute, while Bologna struck on two occasions, at 50 and 58 minutes.
The pattern is familiar to Gasperini from his previous work as well. In his final Atalanta campaign, his side conceded 19 of their 54 goals between minutes 46 and 60, across 52 matches in Serie A, the Coppa Italia, Champions League and UEFA Super Cup.
Como offers the first test of the response
Gasperini’s approach has always been built on correcting details rather than accepting them as unavoidable. Individual mistakes will remain part of football, but the Roma coach wants to reduce the conditions in which a collective drop in focus can take hold.
His first year in Rome has already brought a significant narrowing of the gap to Inter, with Roma able to compete on level terms with the Nerazzurri at the Olimpico last Saturday. The work before the Como match will now turn to another, smaller but potentially important, part of the season’s plot: making sure the team is ready when the dressing-room door opens for the second half.
