Roma finished 5th in the Serie A last season, but currently sit top of the table after 12 games.
We are just four months into the Gian Piero Gasperini revolution at the Giallorrossi and it has gone better than anyone could have expected.
The capital side don’t have the most luxurious squad or the best individual talent. But the former Atalanta manager is taking the best out of every single player available.
What has led Roma to overachieving in the Serie A so far?
Same but different Gasperini
Every footbal fan grew accustomed to Gasperini’s style from his Atalanta days. A frenetic kind of football that always prioritised scoring more than conceding less.
Make no mistake, this new-look Roma do carry traits that made La Dea famous the last few years. They are relentless off the ball and try to inject pace whenever they have it. It’s a nice balance between having possession but not ‘fooling around’ with it.
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Key stats (per match):
- 9.7 passes per defensive action (Ranked #2)
- 4.2 recoveries in the final third (Ranked #2)
- 58.6% possession (Ranked #4)
- 10.3 ten-plus passes sequences (Ranked #8)
- 10.8% long ball percentage (Ranked #13)
Their approach is well established and the stats show. But there is one key part in which Gasperini’s Roma differ from his main Atalanta teams.
The Giallorrossi are scoring just 1.25 goals per game this season, good enough for tied-sixth in the league. But well below La Dea’s average of 1.94 during the 67-year-old’s tenure between 2016 and 2025.
Roma are present in the attacking half, ranking fourth in shots per match in this season’s Seria A (14.2). However, they drop to sixth in expected goals (1.37) and 11th in big chances (1.9).
That is while being one of nine teams who are adding to their probability of scoring considering the placement of finishes, taking their xG tally of 16.4 to 17.1 xGOT.
They are also way more solid defensively than Gasperini’s Atalanta used to be. Which brings us to the next segment.
Mile Svilar’s turnaround
A big part of that comes down to Mile Svilar’s performances. The Serbian goalkeeper became famous as a 18-year-old in 2017 for a mistake against Manchester United for Benfica. He left the Portuguese side after his contract expired in 2022 and joined Roma on a free transfer.
After spending his first 18 months in the Italian capital as a back-up, he impressed when Daniele De Rossi dropped Rui Patricio from the starting lineup and offered Svilar a chance. He’s been their number one goalkeeper since then.
And the 2025-26 season might be his best one yet. He has made no errors leading to shots or goals so far, hasn’t given away a penalty or scored an own goal.
In addition, Svilar has saved 85% of the shots that have come his way so far in the Serie A – the best percentage of any goalkeeper with 500+ minutes played. He also leads the league in save percentage considering just shots from inside the box (85%) and ranks second in goals prevented (+4.6).
Roma’s defence as a whole has been solid. They mainly keep opponents away from their goal, allowing the second fewest touches inside the box of any team (15.3).
On the other hand, they do drop to fourth in shots faced (10.4) and sixth in big chances conceded (1.9) per game. This means the Giallorrossi are somewhat busy, but still strong in that department.
Matias Soule’s magic
Matias Soule is Roma’s main attacking threat. Playing as a left-footed right-attacking-midfielder of their usual 3-4-2-1, he leads the team in goals (4), assists (2), shots taken (24) and chances created (20).
In fact, only two other players have recorded 20+ shots and shot assits so far: Juventus’ Kenan Yildiz and Como’s Nico Paz.
His goal involvements tally (6) isn’t overly expressive, but this Serie A season has been different in that regard. Just four players are ahead of him – three of them with seven and Paz with 10. In addition, the top scorers all have five goals: Hakan Calhanoglu, Nico Paz, Christian Pulisic and Riccardo Orsolini.
As we mentioned before, this Roma squad has no truly spectacular players. But they have such a strong and solid collective unit that makes the lack of a star not a problem.
It’s still early to tell if the Giallorrossi will be able to maintain their form until the end of the season. One thing is for sure, though: the Gasperini revolution is well ahead of schedule.