Mora and Lulli Rescue Depleted Roma Against Cagliari

Four first-team regulars missing, a lead wiped out with nine minutes left and the Stadio Olimpico suddenly anxious, and still AS Roma had an answer. Rodrigo Mora and Donyell Malen scored within two minutes of each other to see off Cagliari 4–2. The result kept Gian Piero Gasperini's side unbeaten in Serie A on a night when almost everything pointed the other way.

Gasperini had to patch together this lineup. Paulo Dybala, Manu Koné, Lorenzo Pellegrini and goalkeeper Mile Svilar were all sidelined, and defenders Balerdi and Hermoso were not fit to start. Roma also carried the legs of their recent meeting with Napoli, and the Italian press noticed the fatigue.

The young core carried the load instead. Emanuele Lulli, whose new contract to 2031 was announced only the day before, scored one and created another. Mora decided it.

Cagliari strike first after VAR review

The opening twist came from the monitor. Referee Ermanno Feliciani initially missed a handball inside the area by Niccolò Pisilli on Michel Adopo's header. A pitchside VAR review on seven minutes confirmed the penalty.

M'Bala Nzola stepped up three minutes later, sent Pierluigi Gollini the wrong way and slotted into the bottom-right corner. For a squad already stretched, falling behind at the Olimpico after ten minutes was the last thing Roma needed.

Lulli answers his new contract with a goal and an assist

Lulli took five minutes to change the mood. Nahuel Molina sent a cross towards the back post, and Lulli rose highest to head the equaliser.

On 21 minutes he turned provider. Lulli whipped in a cross from the right, and Pisilli arrived from deep to side-foot home. The man penalised for the handball had quickly made amends. It was Pisilli's third league goal of the season in eight appearances, while Lulli's header was his second in seven.

A day after committing his future to the club, Lulli had a hand in both of Roma's first-half goals. It is hard to imagine a clearer case for the new deal.

Roma went on to hold 61% of possession, yet the game never belonged to them. Cagliari finished with 19 shots to Roma's 20 and matched the hosts with eight on target. Those numbers describe an open, stretched contest rather than a home side in command. Italian reviews were blunt about Roma's defensive lapses, and about Gianluca Mancini's exposure whenever Cagliari broke.

Maldini levels before Mora and Malen hit back

That vulnerability was punished on 81 minutes. Adam Obert slipped a through ball in behind, and Daniel Maldini outpaced Mancini before drilling an angled finish past Gollini for 2–2.

Maldini has now scored in four of Cagliari's last six league games and has five league goals this season from nine appearances. His own verdict afterwards captured how close the visitors came: "Bastava poco per fare punti."

Roma's reply came within four minutes. Daniele Ghilardi delivered from the right wing, and Mora leapt inside the box to head the hosts back in front. It was his second league goal of the season, in seven appearances.

Two minutes later Mora was at the heart of it again, reaching the byline and cutting the ball back. Malen's first attempt was blocked, but he reacted quickest to bury the rebound from close range.

The finish took Malen to seven Serie A goals in eight appearances, level at the top of the Capocannoniere chart. After Maldini's equaliser the Olimpico had been gripped by tension. Now it turned into "una bolgia" and roared Roma through stoppage time. Italian coverage credited the second-half changes and the young players with giving the hosts a second wind.

Roma keep pace with Lazio as Cagliari's slide deepens

The result keeps Roma third on 21 points, four behind leaders Lazio, and extends their unbeaten league run to nine games: six wins and three draws. They have done it without a settled lineup, which makes the record more persuasive, not less.

Europe remains the other story. In the league phase of their European campaign, Roma sit 25th with one point from two games, after a 4–3 home defeat to Real Madrid. At home, though, this was proof that the squad can absorb absences of this size.

For Fabio Pisacane's Cagliari, the reviews were kinder than the result. Their aggressive plan and courage drew praise in the Italian press, but a third straight league defeat leaves them ninth on 13 points. Cagliari beat Roma 1–0 when they hosted them in December 2025. This time they led at the Olimpico and were level with nine minutes left, yet they went home with nothing, and praise earns no points.