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<\/picture><\/div>\nUDINE, ITALY – FEBRUARY 02: Gian Piero Gasperini, manager of AS Roma, reacts during the Serie A match between Udinese Calcio and AS Roma at Stadio Friuli on February 02, 2026 in Udine, Italy. (Photo by Timothy Rogers\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Gian Piero Gasperini felt \u2018luck was not on our side\u2019 as Roma capitulated 1-0 to Udinese, but he welcomes the arrival of Donyell Malen and Bryan Zaragoza amid \u2018difficulties\u2019 on the transfer market.<\/p>\n
The Giallorossi were ultimately undone by a deflection off Donyell Malen in the defensive wall, which gave Jurgen Ekkelenkamp\u2019s free kick an extra spin to surprise Mile Svilar at the far top corner.<\/p>\n \u201cUndoubtedly, it is never easy to play against Udinese,\u201d Gasperini told Sky Sport Italia.<\/p>\n \u201cWe lacked precision in the final third, were unlucky by a few centimetres at the end and the goal we conceded showed luck was not on our side this evening.<\/p>\n \u201cNonetheless, we leave with our heads held high, and with the strength to keep improving ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n There were two big chances to equalise in stoppages, but Kostas Tsimikas was offside on the Bryan Cristante goal, then Maduka Okoye fingertipped the Gianluca Mancini toe-poke off the line.<\/p>\n However, there was precious little else upfront, so why the lack of scoring opportunities created?<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a very closed match, they too only had a couple of long-range attempts, otherwise it was difficult for both teams to build something. We were looking to do more and we didn\u2019t manage it, but when you have five or six men in the box, that is a chance, even if we didn\u2019t get the finish away. I feel like we did more in that sense.\u201d<\/p>\n Roma have been busy in the transfer window, bringing in Malen, Robinio Vaz and today Bryan Zaragoza on loan with option to buy from Bayern Munich.<\/p>\n They also sent Leon Bailey back to Aston Villa midway through his loan spell.<\/p>\n \u201cThe transfer market is closed, now we have four months and I didn\u2019t realise we\u2019d have so much difficulty introducing players in roles that we had been trying to fill since the summer,\u201d noted Gasperini when asked how happy he was with the club\u2019s transfer strategy.<\/p>\n \u201cEvidently there were a lot of difficulties. Now we have Malen and Zaragoza, who will certainly give us a hand, then some very young players. We\u2019ll try to do our best.\u201d<\/p>\n Are there any regrets or a player that he would\u2019ve wanted to bring in at Roma?<\/p>\n \u201cThere were dozens of names mentioned in the media, but I\u2019m glad we managed to get Malen and Zaragoza. I realise it\u2019s never easy to do business in the January window, but these two players will certainly help. There are also youngsters like Venturino and Vaz who represent the future, but we cannot think they are competitive right now for such high ambitions.<\/p>\n \u201cThe most important thing is getting players like Manu Kone and Paulo Dybala back from injury, as this is a group that does not give up.\u201d<\/p>\n This result means that Roma slipped out of the top four and into fifth place, now two points behind Juventus.<\/p>\n They have now amassed just two draws in the last three competitive matches, held 1-1 by Milan and in the Europa League by Panathinaikos.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are difficult places to play, you can win or lose, we\u2019ve seen that throughout the season.\u201d<\/p>\n Napoli coach Antonio Conte complained that there are now far too many matches and they are damaging the health of players, so how does Gasperini reflect on that?<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the football system now, there are more tournaments and therefore more games. The only negative aspect is that 90 per cent of the injuries happen during matches, rarely in training, and there\u2019s probably a reason for that,\u201d replied the Roma coach.<\/p>\n \u201cThere have always been injuries, but there are double now because there are double the number of matches. The big problem is that with technology we have not been able to shorten the recovery time, although the tests are more precise in identifying injuries early. When you play more, there is a greater risk of injury, that\u2019s just statistical probability.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Gasperini expected fewer problems for Roma transfers<\/h2>\n
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