Roma have collected 13 points from their opening five Serie A matches of 2026/27, but the most important change from last season is not found in the table. Gian Piero Gasperini’s team have become dramatically more productive in attack without abandoning the defensive foundation established during his first year.
Roma also started strongly in 2025/26, winning four of their opening five matches and collecting 12 points. Those results, however, were built almost entirely on defensive control: the Giallorossi scored only five goals while recording four clean sheets.
One year later, Roma remain unbeaten with four victories and one draw. They have scored 14 goals—nine more than at the same stage last season—while conceding three.
Roma’s first five Serie A matches: 2025/26 vs 2026/27
| Statistic | 2025/26 | 2026/27 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 12 | 13 | +1 |
| Record | 4W, 0D, 1L | 4W, 1D, 0L | Unbeaten |
| Goals scored | 5 | 14 | +9 |
| Goals conceded | 1 | 3 | +2 |
| Goal difference | +4 | +11 | +7 |
| Expected goals | 6.01 | 12.99 | +6.98 |
| Expected goals against | 4.16 | 5.29 | +1.13 |
| Shots | 69 | 103 | +34 |
| Shots on target | 25 | 35 | +10 |
| Average possession | 60.3% | 57.7% | -2.6 percentage points |
| Completed passes | 2,031 | 2,405 | +374 |
| Pass completion | 82.8% | 86.9% | +4.1 percentage points |
| Clean sheets | 4 | 3 | -1 |
Expected-goal and team statistics are based on StatMuse’s Serie A data. Different xG models may produce slightly different totals.
The results: A similar record achieved in a different way
Roma’s first five league results last season were:
- Roma 1-0 Bologna
- Pisa 0-1 Roma
- Roma 0-1 Torino
- Lazio 0-1 Roma
- Roma 2-0 Hellas Verona
The Giallorossi won four games but never scored more than twice. Four of the five matches finished with a single goal or fewer, and Gasperini’s side failed to score against Torino despite taking 22 shots and controlling almost 73% of possession.
Roma’s opening five results this season tell a very different story:
- Roma 4-0 Fiorentina
- Lecce 0-4 Roma
- Roma 2-1 Atalanta
- Torino 0-2 Roma
- Roma 2-2 Inter
Roma have scored in every match, reached two goals on each occasion and produced two four-goal victories. Even the first dropped points of the season came in a match in which the Giallorossi scored twice against reigning champions Inter.
Roma have more than doubled their expected goals
The clearest indication of Roma’s attacking improvement is the rise from 6.01 expected goals to 12.99.
Last season’s team generated approximately 1.20 xG per match through the first five rounds. That figure has increased to 2.60 this season. It is not merely a case of Roma finishing an unsustainable number of low-quality chances: the underlying chance production has more than doubled.
Roma have taken 103 shots compared with 69 last season—an increase of 49%. Their average has climbed from 13.8 attempts per game to 20.6, while shots on target have risen from five to seven per match.
The average quality of each attempt has also improved slightly:
- 2025/26: 0.087 xG per shot
- 2026/27: 0.126 xG per shot
Roma are therefore taking considerably more shots and creating better opportunities when they do shoot.
Their conversion rate has nearly doubled, rising from 7.2% to 13.6%. Last season Roma scored five times from 6.01 xG, an underperformance of approximately one goal. This season they have scored 14 from 12.99 xG, outperforming the model by roughly one goal.
The improvement is substantial, but the finishing numbers are not so extreme that the entire start can be dismissed as a temporary hot streak.
Malen has changed the ceiling of Roma’s attack
Donyell Malen’s six league goals have been central to the transformation. The Dutch forward provides the direct running, speed and penalty-area aggression that Roma lacked during the opening months of Gasperini’s first season.
Roma can now turn possession into penetration much more quickly. Paulo Dybala’s vision has become more valuable because Malen consistently attacks the space behind defenders rather than waiting for the ball with his back to goal.
The partnership has made Roma less dependent on slow territorial pressure. They can create through established possession, transitions, high regains and direct combinations between Dybala and Malen.
The supporting cast is also contributing. Manu Koné scored both goals against Inter, while Niccolò Pisilli sealed the victory over Torino. Roma’s midfielders and defenders are entering the penalty area more aggressively, giving opponents more runners to track and reducing the attacking burden on the forwards.
Less possession, considerably more threat
One of the most revealing changes is that Roma’s average possession has fallen from 60.3% to 57.7%.
That decline has been accompanied by:
- 34 more shots;
- 10 more efforts on target;
- almost seven additional expected goals;
- nine more actual goals.
Roma are doing more damage with slightly less control of the ball. Last season, possession could become sterile when opponents defended deep. The defeat to Torino was the clearest example: Roma dominated the ball but rarely created clear chances.
The current team moves the ball with greater precision. Roma have completed 86.9% of their passes this season, compared with 82.8% through the same period last year. They have also completed 374 more passes despite holding a smaller share of possession.
That combination suggests a team playing with greater technical security and a clearer idea of how to progress the ball. Possession is no longer the objective; it is a means of creating an opening.
Has Roma’s defence become worse?
The raw numbers show a decline from one goal conceded to three, but the context matters.
Roma’s expected goals against have risen only from 4.16 to 5.29. Almost half of this season’s total came in the 2-2 draw with Inter, when the visitors generated approximately 2.56 xG.
Before facing Inter, Roma had allowed just 2.73 xG across four matches, or 0.68 per game, while conceding once. The defensive structure therefore remained exceptionally strong until it encountered the deepest and most dangerous attack of the opening schedule.
The concern is not Roma’s overall defensive level but how the team manages changes in momentum. Atalanta scored after halftime, Fenerbahce equalized shortly after the interval in the Champions League, and Inter overturned a two-goal deficit in the second half.
Roma’s man-oriented system is highly effective when the press is synchronized. When that pressure weakens, however, opponents can isolate defenders and attack the space left behind. The second-half collapse against Inter demonstrated the potential cost.
Gasperini’s second-year evolution
The comparison reflects a team at two different stages of development.
In September 2025, Gasperini was still installing his system and learning which players could execute it. Roma relied on defensive organization while the attacking mechanisms developed.
A year later, the squad is more suited to his football. Malen stretches the pitch, Dybala supplies the final pass, the wing-backs attack aggressively and players such as Koné, Pisilli and Mancini provide runs from deeper positions.
The most encouraging number is the expected-goal difference:
- 2025/26: +1.85
- 2026/27: +7.70
Roma’s underlying advantage over their opponents has more than quadrupled. They are not simply collecting one additional point; they are controlling the quality and volume of chances far more decisively.
The schedule must also be acknowledged. Five matches remain a small sample, and Roma’s 2026/27 run has already included Atalanta and Inter. Individual finishing rates will fluctuate, while injuries and Champions League commitments will test the squad’s depth.
Still, the early evidence is compelling. Last season’s Roma knew how to protect narrow leads. This season’s team looks capable of creating them repeatedly—and that attacking leap is what can turn a Champions League contender into a genuine participant in the Scudetto race.
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