Roma’s Glory Days Fade as They Fall in Serie A Final

Mile Svilar of AS ROMA LOOKS ON during the Italian Serie A football match between Calcio Como and AS Roma on March 15, 2026 at the Giuseppe Senigallia stadium in Como, Italy Photo Tiziano Ballabio (Photo by Tiziano Ballabio/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images If you prefer to save five minutes of your time and skip down to the comments section, we won’t be offended. You’ve seen this match before, read this review before, and you’ve endured this pain before. With their Champions League lifeline hanging by a thread, Gian Piero Gasperini and Roma had everything to play for today on the shores of picturesque Lake Como.

A victory over Cesc Fabregas’s team would have allowed Roma to jump back into fourth place, keeping their Champions League hopes alive for another week. However, for the umpteenth time in the past, I don’t know, decade, they fell flat on their face against a top-six rival. This match featured all the hallmarks of a classic Roma breakdown: individual errors, flawed tactics, poor execution, and a clear lack of quality in the run of play.

Add to that a spate of injuries that has stripped Roma’s attack bare, and they never stood a chance today. Still, there was a glimmer of hope early in the match. In the 7th minute, with Como playing a bit too casually out of the back, Stephan El Shaarawy beat Diego Carlos to a loose ball at the edge of the box, resulting in a clear penalty after the Como defender clamped down on El Shaarawy’s ankle.

And a simple swing of the leg, Donyell Malen drew first blood converting the penalty with ease. Donyell Malen at Aston Villa: 7 goals in 29 games Donyell Malen at Roma: 7 goals in 10 games Loving life in Serie A 🇮🇹 pic. twitter.