Gian Piero Gasperini acknowledged that the major officiating calls in Roma’s defeat were justified, including the dismissal of Zeki Çelik, yet he stressed that the match against Cagliari drifted away from any sense of rhythm or technique.
Roma entered the afternoon still frustrated by last weekend’s narrow loss to Napoli, and they again found themselves unable to generate convincing chances in Sardinia. Their difficulties began well before Çelik was ejected for stopping Michael Folorunsho outside the penalty area.
Mile Svilar delivered several important interventions, but he was eventually beaten when Gianluca Gaetano met a Sebastiano Esposito corner at the far post, cushioning the ball on his chest before striking a low, angled half-volley into the net.
Speaking to DAZN Italia, Gasperini remarked that the officiating was straightforward and that his team had no grievances this time.
Roma’s attacking struggles and the turning point
Gasperini admitted that his side lacked creativity even with a full complement of players, noting that the experiment of using Tommaso Baldanzi as a False 9 may not be paying off. Once reduced to ten men, Roma found it nearly impossible to create sustained pressure, as the match devolved into a physical contest rather than any kind of flowing display.
He pointed out that several avoidable mistakes contributed to the defeat, both in the lead-up to the sending-off and during the action that produced Cagliari’s goal. According to him, Cagliari relied heavily on long balls—an approach he associated with teams fighting near the bottom of the table at this phase of the season—and Roma failed to handle those situations cleanly.
The coach felt his players had the ability to raise their level after the interval, but the red card forced them to abandon the adjustments they had planned.
A missed opportunity in a crowded league table
With the standings extremely compact, this setback could see Roma drift down the table. The intensity Cagliari showed surprised Gasperini, especially considering that the Sardinian side had just played a Coppa Italia match against Napoli midweek, while Roma had a full week to prepare.
He reflected that the match lost its structure entirely once his team went a man down, explaining that in such circumstances the priority becomes scraping a point—which Roma almost managed before conceding. In the end, he felt his squad did not adapt quickly enough and allowed small errors to pile up at crucial moments.
This defeat marks Roma’s first pair of consecutive league losses in 2025 and their first back-to-back goalless outings since December of last year.
