Donyell Malen struck twice at the Stadio Olimpico to power Roma to a comfortable 2–0 victory over Cagliari, a result that lifted the Giallorossi level on points with fourth-placed Juventus in Serie A.
Cagliari handed Como loanee Alberto Dossena his first appearance since last March, but the defender endured a difficult return in a reshuffled backline missing Yerry Mina.
He was booked inside six minutes for tripping Malen, while Roma immediately looked dangerous, with Evan Ndicka heading over from the ensuing free-kick.
The visitors nearly gifted Roma an opener in the 16th minute when goalkeeper Elia Caprile allowed a backpass to roll dangerously toward his own goal, but he recovered just in time to clear it off the line.
Roma’s pressure eventually paid off just before the half-hour. Malen timed his run perfectly to latch onto Gianluca Mancini’s pass, beat Dossena for pace and calmly chipped Caprile to open the scoring.
It was his second goal for the club since joining on loan from Aston Villa last month.
The hosts remained largely untroubled before the break, keeping Cagliari at bay while maintaining their strong defensive record at home this season.
Cagliari tightened up after the restart, and Roma manager Gian Piero Gasperini introduced Bayern Munich loanee Bryan Zaragoza for his debut just before the hour mark.
However, the home side doubled their advantage 20 minutes into the second half when Malen turned in Zeki Celik’s low cross from close range.
Ibrahim Sulemana almost sparked a comeback with a powerful long-range effort that rattled the top of the crossbar, while Dossena also dragged a late chance wide, but Cagliari lacked the cutting edge to respond.
The defeat leaves Fabio Pisacane’s side 12th in the standings and without a win in their last 11 away trips to Roma.
Meanwhile, the Giallorossi are now level on points with Juventus, trailing only on goal difference after bouncing back from a two-game league slump.
