Roma Crush Slovan Bratislava 4-0 in Champions League

Roma vs Slovan Bratislava ended in a statement 4-0 rout on Tuesday, as the Giallorossi finally claimed their first Champions League win of the season at the Stadio Olimpico.

Mario Hermoso broke the deadlock in the 21st minute, nodding home at the back post after Daniele Ghilardi flicked on Lorenzo Pellegrini’s free-kick. Nahuel Molina doubled the lead in the 39th, tapping in the rebound after Donyell Malen’s cut-back was parried.

Niccolò Pisilli made it 3-0 in the 52nd minute from Malen’s assist, and Malen completed the scoring from the penalty spot in the 58th. Roma dominated utterly: 73 percent possession, 26 shots, and Slovan managed a single attempt worth a meagre 0.02 expected goals.

First European win in years

The victory ended a run of five games without a win in major European competition and was Roma’s first Champions League triumph since beating Porto 2-1 in February 2019. It also steadied the ship after the dramatic 4-3 collapse against Real Madrid, a match Roma had led 3-1 until the 82nd minute.

Slovan Bratislava, coached by Yaya Touré, have now conceded 13 goals in three matches after earlier defeats to PSG (6-1) and Stuttgart (3-0).

Pellegrini worry for Gasperini

The only cloud was captain Pellegrini limping off with a muscular injury early in the second half. Coach Gian Piero Gasperini told Sky Sport Italia the injury would likely keep him out around 20 days — a blow with Paulo Dybala and Manu Koné already sidelined and a trip to Napoli looming on Saturday.

“My only worry is that now we’ve got Bryan Cristante back on the bench, we risk losing Pellegrini for a while,” Gasperini said.

The victory carried extra significance: it was Roma’s first Champions League win since February 2019, ending a drought that had spanned more than seven years. But the night wasn’t without cost — Lorenzo Pellegrini’s muscular injury is expected to sideline the captain for around 20 days, with Paulo Dybala and Manu Koné already out. For Slovan Bratislava, a third straight defeat with 13 goals conceded leaves their campaign in tatters.

For a club rebuilding its European reputation, the emphatic nature of the win mattered every bit as much as the three points.