Friday30 October 2026English edition
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Report · Serie A

Roma's bench answers Maldini's equaliser inside four minutes

Roma beat Cagliari 4-2 because Gian Piero Gasperini's substitutes had more left than the men they replaced. Rodrigo Mora and Donyell Malen, both sent on at 56 minutes, scored in the 85th and 87th minutes after Daniel Maldini had pulled Cagliari level.

Editorial board · 30 October 2026
A floodlit night view of the Stadio Olimpico, its stands filled with spectators around the pitch and running track.
The Stadio Olimpico in Rome hosts Roma against Cagliari in Serie A. Photo: Andrew / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Roma beat Cagliari 4-2 because Gian Piero Gasperini's substitutes had more left than the men they replaced. Rodrigo Mora and Donyell Malen, both sent on at 56 minutes, scored in the 85th and 87th minutes after Daniel Maldini had pulled Cagliari level.

Half timeFull time
Roma · 3-5-2Cagliari · 3-4-2-1Pierluigi GolliniGolliniGianluca ManciniManciniEvan NdickaNdickaKonstantinos KoulierakisKoulierakisEmanuele LulliLulliBryan CristanteCristanteMarten de Roonde RoonNiccolò PisilliPisilliNahuel MolinaMolinaMatìas SoulèSoulèSantiago CastroCastroElia CaprileCaprileZé PedroPedroYerry MinaMinaJuan RodríguezRodríguezYukinari SugawaraSugawaraAlessandro RomanoRomanoAlessandro DeiolaDeiolaAdam ObertObertMichel AdopoAdopoAlieu FaderaFaderaM'Bala NzolaNzola
Came on Ghilardi 82′, Malen 56′, Mora 56′, Wesley 45′, Rensch 76′, Massolin 90′, Liteta 76′, Maldini 76′, Trepy 90′, Mendy 63′ · · Confirmed 13:24 UTC · Line-ups: espn.com

Cagliari led on 10 minutes when M'Bala Nzola struck a penalty low into the bottom right corner with his left foot. Roma were ahead by the 21st minute. Emanuele Lulli headed in Nahuel Molina's cross on 15 minutes, a finish Gasperini said he had practised the day before "because it is not his greatest strength", and six minutes later Lulli crossed for Niccolò Pisilli to score from the centre of the box.

Molina went off at half-time and Gasperini changed his attack at 56 minutes, but the second goal Roma needed never came. Cagliari's answer came from their bench too: Daniel Maldini, on at 76 minutes, ran onto Adam Obert's through ball and levelled with a left-footed shot on 81 minutes.

Roma's reply took four minutes. Daniele Ghilardi, on for Gianluca Mancini at 82 minutes, crossed for Mora to head in, and Malen finished from close range two minutes later. Gasperini said afterwards that Ghilardi should have come on earlier, and called the win "even more precious, because everyone was involved".

Roma are third on 21 points, unbeaten after nine league matches, a point behind Inter, who have a game in hand, and four behind Lazio. Cagliari stay ninth on 13. Roma go to Udinese on Saturday without Paulo Dybala.