Roma – Cagliari, getty images 09 February 2026, 23:38

Donyell Malen became the main hero of the Serie A match, scoring his first brace in a Roma shirt in the victory against Cagliari. The win moved the hosts level on points with Juventus in the race for fourth in the table, while the Romans continued their successful run of results at the Stadio Olimpico.

The team entered the match with significant personnel losses. Roma could not count on Paulo Dybala, Mario Hermoso, Manu Kone, Artem Dovbyk, Evan Ferguson and Stefan El Shaarawi. Despite this, Gianluca Mancini appeared in the starting line-up, playing in a protective mask after a nose operation. Rookie Brian Zaragoza, signed at the deadline, started the game on the bench and later made his debut for the Romans.

Cagliari came into the match in excellent form, with three consecutive victories under their belts, including wins over Juventus and Fiorentina, as well as home success against Roma in the first round.

Roma seized the initiative from the first minutes, regularly troubling the visitors’ goalkeeper Elia Caprile. The most active was Malen, who several times found himself at the forefront of attacks. The first goal came after the Dutchman made an individual pass down the right flank, elegantly beating a defender and slotting the ball past the keeper from an acute angle to open the scoring in the match.

In the second half, Malen continued to terrorize the Cagliari defense. After Brian Zaragoza entered the field, Roma’s attacks became even more intense. It was Zeki Celik who provided the assist for the second goal as Malen outpaced the defenders and doubled the hosts’ lead from close range.

The visitors tried to fight back and came close, with Ibrahim Sulemana’s long-range shot hitting the crossbar and several more set-pieces ending in dangerous moments near Mile Svilar’s goal. However, Roma kept a comfortable lead and brought the match to victory.

Roma – Cagliari 2:0

Goals: Malen, 25, 65

Roma: Svilar — Mancini, Ndika, Gilardi — Celik, Cristante (El Ainaoui, 84), Pizzilli, Wesley — Sule (Arena, 84), Pellegrini (Zaragoza, 57) — Malen (Venturino, 84)

Cagliari: Caprile – Pedro (Zappa, 87), Dossena, Rodriguez – Palestra, Adopo, Gaetano (Trepi, 87), Mazzitelli (Sulemana, 59), Obert – Kylichsoy (Idrissi, 73), Esposito (Pavoletti, 73)

Warning: Mancini, Zaragoza – Dossena, Palestra, Gaetano, Idrissi