Gasperini: ‘Roma red deserved, more of a battle than a football match’

Gian Piero Gasperini admits the big refereeing decisions were correct against Roma , including the red card, but ‘it became more of a battle than a football match’ with Cagliari .

The Giallorossi were already smarting from last week’s 1-0 defeat to Napoli and struggled to create any real scoring opportunities in Sardinia this afternoon, even before Zeki Celik saw red for bringing down Michael Folorunsho outside the box.

Mile Svilar made several big saves, but could do nothing when Gianluca Gaetano chested down the Sebastiano Esposito corner at the back post and fired the half-volley from a tight angle.

CAGLIARI, ITALY – DECEMBER 07: Roma’s coach Gian Piero Gasperini look on during the Serie A match between Cagliari Calcio and AS Roma at Stadio Sant’Elia on December 07, 2025 in Cagliari , Italy. (Photo by Enrico Locci/Getty Images)

“All the decisions seemed pretty clear to me,” Gasperini told DAZN Italia.

“Unlike last week against Napoli , we have no complaints about the referee.”

Even before the Celik dismissal, Roma really struggled to create anything, and perhaps having Tommaso Baldanzi as a False 9 isn’t working.

“Down to 10 men, the game became more difficult, even if for a while we managed not to allow much dangerous. It was tough to create in those situations, it became more of a battle than a football match.

“We certainly made a few obvious errors, both on the red card and the goal, so it becomes difficult to get a result when that happens. Cagliari had a lot of long balls, like many teams at this stage of the season in the lower levels of the table, they are throwing everything onto the pitch,” continued Gasperini.

“We could’ve done better on a technical level, in the second half we had what it took to step up a gear, but the red card changed those plans.”

CAGLIARI, ITALY – DECEMBER 07: Mile Svilar of Roma in action during the Serie A match between Cagliari Calcio and AS Roma at Stadio Sant’Elia on December 07, 2025 in Cagliari , Italy. (Photo by Enrico Locci/Getty Images)

This result means Roma may well slide down the standings, seeing as the table is so incredibly tight.

They did not expect Cagliari to play with such intensity, especially considering the Sardinians were involved in a midweek Coppa Italia tie with Napoli, whereas Roma had a full week to rest and prepare.

“At a certain point, there was very little football, it was a battle. We were unable to get the game back on track down to 10 men, but when matches go in that direction, the best you can do is take home a point and we nearly did it. Perhaps we just didn’t manage to adapt to the situation and made some cheap errors,” concluded Gasperini.

Roma had not lost two in a row in Serie A during the calendar year 2025, and hadn’t failed to score for two consecutive games since December 2024.