Gasperini rues 'avoidable' Torino goal after Roma suffer first defeat

Gian Piero Gasperini conceded Torino's decisive goal against his Roma side was "avoidable" as the Giallorossi suffered their first defeat of the season.

Roma were beaten 1-0 at the Stadio Olimpico, where Giovanni Simeone struck a superb winner against the run of play just before the hour mark.

The Giallorossi missed the chance to move level with Serie A pacesetters Napoli and Juventus, who both won on Saturday, while also dropping their first points of the campaign.

Despite registering 22 shots and an xG of 1.3, Roma could not find a way past their opponents, and suffered their first home league defeat of 2025.

Gasperini believes the late return of players from international duty – combined with the hot temperature in Italy's capital – were key factors in his side's loss.

"From the start, we were lacking the ability to shoot, make the last pass, the right final ball," he told DAZN. 

"You have to be careful not to concede goals at this temperature, because you are lacking in energy.

"The match was decided by an avoidable goal. The energy was a little lower in this temperature, and everything became more difficult.

"Overall, we didn't play a bad game, we did well on the pitch. We could have sped up a little more in our movement of the ball." 

Gasperini opted to deploy a "lightweight" attack by pairing Paulo Dybala with Matias Soule, while leaving centre-forwards Evan Ferguson and Artem Dovbyk on the bench.

However, Roma were forced into a change at the break as Dybala limped off, and the Giallorossi are awaiting further information on the extent of the injury. 

"Dybala had a small physical problem, so he had to come off," Gasperini added. "Let's hope it's nothing too serious."