Gasperini brushes off Allegri's tunnel outburst, hints at Dybala return
Roma's head coach called the reporting of Massimiliano Allegri's post-match comments 'unfortunate' while confirming Paulo Dybala could be involved against Cagliari and detailing the competition for places that is reshaping his squad.
Gian Piero Gasperini said the coverage of Massimiliano Allegri's furious reaction to Roma's late equaliser against Napoli was 'unfortunate', speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of Tuesday's Serie A fixture against Cagliari at the Stadio Olimpico, according to Football Italia.
Leonardo Balerdi's stoppage-time goal secured a 3-3 draw in Naples on Saturday and prompted Allegri to be sent off, with the Napoli coach later banned for two matches. In the tunnel afterwards he was heard suggesting Roma had benefited from favourable treatment last season and that he had 'paid for it with Milan', as reported by Football Italia.
Asked directly about the comments, Gasperini said he had not heard them himself and had only learned of them through reporting. He pointed instead to last season's results as the only evidence that mattered, adding that the lack of scrutiny on that record was what he found unfortunate.
That response matters more for what it avoided than what it said. Gasperini declined to engage with the substance of Allegri's grievance and redirected the conversation toward performance data from an entire campaign rather than a single flashpoint. It is a deflection that keeps the noise away from his own dressing room three days before a league fixture.
Dybala's return would ease Roma's attacking load
Gasperini confirmed Paulo Dybala is the only player with a realistic chance of returning for the Cagliari match, saying the club would assess him in training on Monday afternoon to decide whether he could at least be named among the substitutes.
He described having 'a lot of confidence' in that outcome without committing to Dybala starting, which is consistent with how Roma have handled fitness issues all season: reintroducing players from the bench rather than throwing them straight back into the XI. Gasperini also indicated he would finalise his rotation plan only after assessing Cagliari as opponents, having had just one training session to prepare.
On the goalkeeping front, Mile Svilar remains sidelined but Gasperini suggested he could be fit to train again by Thursday or Friday, potentially making him available for a Champions League trip to Manchester. Manu Kone, by contrast, is unlikely to be back before the upcoming international break, a longer-term absence that will keep testing Roma's midfield cover.
Soulé's shift into midfield reflects Gasperini's trust
Gasperini singled out Matias Soulé's performance against Napoli as 'extraordinary' and used it to make a broader point about the player's development. Soulé lost months of the season to a pubalgia issue but has picked up, in Gasperini's words, exactly where he left off.
What stood out to the coach was not just the output but the positional flexibility: Soulé has featured on the right, on the left and at times as a central attacking midfielder this season. Gasperini noted he is losing the ball less often than before, framing the Argentine's recent Albiceleste call-up as external confirmation of his progress.
Deploying a winger through the middle as an auxiliary playmaker is a demanding ask technically, since it requires comfort receiving under pressure between the lines rather than in space out wide. Gasperini's willingness to keep shifting Soulé around suggests he sees him as a connector capable of adapting his role to whatever a given opponent's structure invites.
Competition at full-back shows the depth Gasperini wants
Asked about Emanuele Lulli, reportedly closing in on a new long-term contract, Gasperini was notably measured. He praised Lulli's deserved rise but made clear he currently prefers other options in that role for the biggest matches.
Gasperini named Devyne Rensch, Wesley and Ricardo Molina as the players currently doing well in that area of the pitch, framing the situation as healthy internal competition rather than a snub of Lulli specifically. His stated aim was for every player in that group to keep developing individually, which reads as a coach deliberately avoiding settling on a first-choice name this early.
Having four credible options for essentially the same role is unusual squad planning, and it gives Gasperini scope to rotate against congested fixture schedules without a drop-off in quality. It also puts pressure on each of the four to perform in the matches they do get, since none can assume a guaranteed run of starts.
Roma have not lost in Serie A for 15 matches, a run stretching back to a 5-2 defeat to Inter in early April. Gasperini described the squad as benefiting from continuity and repetition of its principles over time, crediting the club's culture for pushing the group to stay proactive. That unbeaten sequence is now the backdrop against which Tuesday's visit of Cagliari, and the following Champions League trip to Manchester, will be judged.