Roma 4-0 Slovan Bratislava: Roma turn dominance into a four-goal Champions League win

Full-time

Roma delivered a commanding 4-0 victory over Slovan Bratislava at the Stadio Olimpico in Matchday 3 of the Champions League League Stage. The home side led by two at the break and added two more shortly after the restart, completing a result that was strongly reflected by the final match numbers.

Roma finished with 73% possession, 666 passes and a 90% pass-completion rate. They registered 26 shots to Slovan’s one, placed 10 efforts on target and did not allow their visitors a single shot on target. Slovan goalkeeper Dominik Takac made six saves, but Roma’s attacking volume remained decisive.

Roma strike twice before the interval

The first major scoring moment arrived in the 21st minute. Mario Hermoso headed Roma into the lead from Daniele Ghilardi’s assist, putting the hosts 1-0 ahead.

Slovan had already received a yellow card in the 20th minute, with Tigran Barseghyan booked for simulation. Roma then extended their advantage in the 39th minute, as Nahuel Molina scored with his right foot after an assist from Donyell Malen. The 2-0 half-time score gave Roma a clear platform, and the match statistics underlined their control: they ended the game with 134 attacks and 95 dangerous attacks, compared with 54 and 17 respectively for Slovan.

Early second-half finish

Roma made a change at the start of the second half, with Matías Soulé replacing Lorenzo Pellegrini in the 51st minute. A minute later, Niccolò Pisilli added the third goal with a left-footed finish, again supplied by Malen.

The fourth followed in the 58th minute, when Malen converted a penalty. His contribution was particularly significant: he provided assists for Molina and Pisilli before getting on the scoresheet himself. Malen was replaced by Santiago Castro a minute after scoring.

Roma’s four goals came from different phases: Hermoso’s header, Molina’s right-footed effort, Pisilli’s left-footed finish and Malen’s penalty. The spread of scorers and the two recorded assists offered a concise picture of a varied attacking output.

Control without concession

The clean sheet was built on sustained territorial and attacking superiority. Roma created five big chances, missing one, while Slovan created none. They also held a sizeable edge in corners, 8-1, accurate crosses, 12-1, and key passes, 18-1.

The visitors were forced into 15 goal kicks, compared with Roma’s three, and registered no saves for Pierluigi Gollini. Roma also completed 598 successful passes to Slovan’s 176, and their successful long-pass rate stood at 69%, compared with 32% for Slovan.

Both teams made five substitutions. For Slovan, Barseghyan was replaced in the 55th minute, while Suleiman Camara, Artur Gajdos and Rahim Ibrahim all made way in a triple substitution in the 69th minute. Kevin Wimmer entered in the 82nd minute. Slovan collected three yellow cards in total: Barseghyan for simulation, Camara for a foul and Cristian Martínez for dissent.

Roma made further changes after establishing the 4-0 scoreline. Devyne Rensch replaced Wesley in the 59th minute, while Konstantinos Koulierakis and Gianluca Mancini entered in the 77th minute for Hermoso and Marten de Roon.

Pisilli leads the ratings

Pisilli was named Player of the Match with a rating of 8.62 after scoring Roma’s third. Malen followed with 8.43, reflecting his goal and two assists. Ghilardi, who assisted the opening goal, received 7.96, while Leonardo Balerdi, Molina and Hermoso were rated 7.95, 7.94 and 7.77 respectively.

There was one late VAR intervention in the 87th minute, when a Santiago Castro goal for Roma was disallowed for offside. It did not alter a scoreline that had already been settled long before the final whistle: Roma 4-0 Slovan Bratislava.