Real Madrid’s Champions League campaign moves from an opening 2-1 win over Cristian Chivu’s Inter to another Italian examination, with Roma waiting at the Olimpico. Two years after a demanding 3-2 victory at Atalanta, Madrid will again meet Gian Piero Gasperini’s relentless pressing system on Italian soil—this time against a Roma side restored to Europe’s top competition after seven years away.
Key takeaways
- Roma have begun the Serie A season unbeaten, recording four wins and two draws, with 14 goals scored and only three conceded.
- Gasperini’s side will be without goalkeeper Mile Svilar and midfielder Bryan Cristante, while Donyell Malen is available despite his weekend red card against Como.
- Malen has produced 20 goals and three assists in 25 Serie A appearances since January after being moved into a central striking role.
- Paulo Dybala has supplied four assists and has regained the physical continuity that had been missing during injury-hit seasons.
- Madrid can expect aggressive man-to-man pressure across the pitch, but Roma’s commitment to attacking may leave transition space for the visitors.
Gasperini brings his Atalanta identity to Rome
Madrid have seen this challenge before. Their last away trip to Italy came against Gasperini’s Atalanta, when Carlo Ancelotti’s team arrived needing a response after consecutive defeats to Milan and Liverpool. They emerged with a 3-2 win, helped by goals from Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior, whose performance was especially influential.
Gasperini, now in charge of Roma, has carried the same principles south: intense individual marking, high-tempo football and a willingness to expose his own side in pursuit of attacking control. His influence on Italian coaching has been considerable, with figures including Ivan Juric, Massimiliano Alvini and Igor Tudor among those to have adopted elements of his approach.
Roma’s return to the Champions League has arrived immediately under his leadership. The coach has made no effort to conceal the scale of the club’s domestic ambition, saying the original target was to win the Scudetto within three years, although he believes that timetable could be accelerated.
The early results support that confidence. Roma boast Serie A’s second-highest scoring record and its best defensive figures, while their 2-2 meeting with Inter offered a sharp indication of their level. In the first half, the Italian champions were given little room to settle under Roma’s pressure.
Last weekend’s goalless draw at Como showed another side to the team. Roma had created the clearer openings before Malen was sent off, then protected the result for 40 minutes with 10 men against Cesc Fàbregas’s side.
Absences and attacking threats at the Olimpico
Roma will not have Svilar, voted Serie A’s best goalkeeper in each of the previous two seasons, and Cristante, one of Gasperini’s regulars. Pierluigi Gollini is expected to deputise in goal after several important saves at Como, while Marten de Roon should replace Cristante. De Roon was also involved when Atalanta faced Madrid two years ago.
The likely back three is Gianluca Mancini, Evan Ndicka and Mario Hermoso. Madrid will need to monitor more than Roma’s forwards, as Gasperini asks his outside central defenders to advance aggressively. Their set-piece output is equally notable: Mancini and Ndicka each scored five times last season, while Hermoso added four.
Manu Koné is set to anchor the midfield alongside De Roon, with Molina and Wesley expected in the wing-back roles. Ahead of them, Dybala and Malen should be joined by either Matías Soulé or Rodrigo Mora, the young Portuguese arrival from Porto.
Malen is Roma’s most direct threat. The Netherlands forward has been transformed since Gasperini placed him through the middle, closer to goal. His runs behind defenders and his ability to take a first touch away from pressure allow him to create a shooting chance almost instantly.
Dybala, now 32, has also made a powerful start. After years in which injuries repeatedly interrupted his rhythm, the Argentine has been completing matches and moving with a freshness more associated with his Juventus peak. Gasperini’s explanation for the revival was simple: training.
For Madrid, the contest offers a familiar contradiction. A Gasperini team is predictable in its identity but extremely difficult to withstand. There will be duels everywhere, little time on the ball and a major physical demand. Yet Roma’s aggressive defensive structure can also be attacked: Madrid possess the dribbling, carrying power and transition quality to break individual assignments once the first line is beaten.
The decisive question is whether Madrid are ready to match the pace from the opening moments. At the Olimpico, with Venditti’s “Roma, Roma, Roma” accompanying the teams onto the pitch, the answer will shape the next stage of their European week.
