Rome, Italy – September 21: As Roma head coach Gian Piero Gasperini is paying attention during a match between SS Lazio and Stadio Olimpico and As Roma on September 21, 2025 in Rome, Italy. (Photo: Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)
Gian Piero Gaspelini says Lorenzo Pellegrini deserves a start in the Roman Derby for his performance in a recent training session, revealing that players were unable to hear him towards the end of the game due to noise within the Olympico.
Roma won a 1-0 victory over Lazio on Sunday, giving Gasperini a perfect debut at Derby della Capitale.
Pellegrini made his first appearance this season, scoring his fourth goal against Lazio, giving Roma all three points.
“I’m watching the players train and I’m seeing how Pellegrini moves and works, so there’s no doubt that I started him today. He’s a quality young man and we all have such great techniques,” Gasperini told Dazen Italia.
Gasperini explains why he started playing Pellegrini
“I was very pleased with the performance, or at least until Lazio beat the guy, I risked at that point compromising the match we had.”
Roma hasn’t scored more than one goal this season in any of the four games so far, so is players like Pellegrini, who scored from midfield boosting options?
“Pellegrini has a good finish, he sometimes runs to the box, but his focus must be on the midfield and he has the opportunity to score goals.
“Along with the strikers, we can help them grow because they want to learn and develop. Both Ferguson and Soul worked on teams, so did Dovic when he got off the bench. As they grow, the overall level of performance increases.
“We need everyone to improve our offensive moves, give them a little more and increase our goals for this team.”
Pellegrini saw the captain’s armband undressing him and was told that his contract would not be extended by June 2026, but he continues to commit to Rome. Did his status as a lifelong fan give him an extra heart in this derby?
“I’ve just met him this season, and I’ve seen my heart not only from people from Rome, but from everyone today. He’s a good player, but if he’s also an athlete, he’ll raise his level quite a bit,” Gasperini insisted.
“The team is in good condition. We had some difficulties over the weekend against Turin, where we probably couldn’t play at the right tempo.
“It’s a process. There are ups and downs, so we’re looking for improvements at both the individual and team level. We have to speed up everyone so that we can become a stronger group and have more options. We’ve been impressed with Rensch, for example.”
Gasperini needs to “improve” in the last 10 minutes
This was Gaspelini’s first ever Derby della Capital as a Rome coach, but how did he feel about winning?
“I’m very pleased with the Derby. Even if they couldn’t hear me loudly towards the end! It was a very positive situation for us and we risked giving a goal. We can’t waste what we did in just 10 minutes against our team,” the coach concluded.
“I’m glad to give them this joy because I know that fans feel particularly deeply about this fixture. Now I need to think about ways to improve those last 10 minutes!”
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