Roma turned in their most complete performance of the UEFA Champions League league stage on Tuesday, beating Slovan Bratislava 4-0 at Stadio Olimpico to record their first victory in the competition this season. Hermoso opened the scoring in the 21st minute and Nahuel Molina doubled the lead before half-time, and the contest was effectively over by the hour mark after Niccolò Pisilli and Donyell Malen added two more in quick succession. Gian Piero Gasperini’s side dominated every meaningful statistical category, finishing with 73 percent possession, an xG of 3.62, and 26 shots to Slovan’s one.
Key Moments
- 20′, Barseghyan picked up a yellow card for Slovan Bratislava, setting a nervy tone for the visitors before Roma struck almost immediately.
- 21′, Hermoso headed or forced home from a Ghilardi delivery to open the scoring, the defender converting for Roma’s first goal of the night.
- 39′, Molina doubled the lead without a recorded assist, finishing to make it 2-0 before the break and take the game away from Slovan.
- 51′, Pellegrini was taken off for Soulé in Roma’s first substitution, a change later flagged by Gasperini as potentially injury-related.
- 52′, Pisilli made it 3-0 just after the restart, converting from a Malen assist to kill the match as a contest.
- 58′, Malen added a fourth from the penalty spot, having already registered an assist, before being withdrawn just a minute later.
Tactical Breakdown
Gasperini’s 3-4-2-1 gave Roma complete control from the first whistle. With 599 accurate passes and 10 shots on target, the Giallorossi pressed high and recycled possession quickly through the midfield trio of M. de Roon, Pisilli and Rodrigo Mora. Slovan, set up in a 4-1-4-1 that was designed to stay compact, simply could not live with the pace of Roma’s transitions. The visitors managed just one shot all night, recording a staggering xG of 0.04.
The key tactical wrinkle came in the transition between the first and second halves. Gasperini brought on Soulé for Pellegrini at the 51-minute mark, a change that coincided with an immediate third goal. Soulé’s direct running stretched Slovan’s already stretched backline and gave Malen more room to combine centrally. Within seven minutes of the restart Roma had scored twice, and Gasperini could afford to rotate freely from the 59th minute onward.
Slovan had no answer for Roma’s width or their ability to switch play. Sandro Cruz and Blackman, the fullbacks tasked with tracking Molina and Wesley respectively, were regularly caught too high or too narrow. Takáč in goal made six saves and kept the scoreline from becoming embarrassing, but Slovan’s failure to generate any meaningful attacking threat meant the result was never in doubt after Hermoso’s opener.
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Verdict
The win lifts Roma to 4 points through three matches in the UEFA Champions League league stage, as they look to climb the standings and push into the playoff positions. Slovan Bratislava remain bottom with zero points from three games and a goal difference of minus 12 after conceding 13 times this campaign. For Roma, the margin of victory and the clean sheet will matter as much as the three points: goal difference could prove relevant deep into the league phase.