Roma beat Torino 0-2 for fourth straight Serie A win

Roma remain firmly in control at the top of Serie A. Gian Piero Gasperini's team picked up a 0-2 away victory over Torino on Monday at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, with goals from Donyell Malen and Niccolò Pisilli sealing a fourth win from the opening four rounds of the Italian league season.

• Roma won 0-2 away at Torino and kept their perfect Serie A record intact.
• Donyell Malen opened the scoring in the 40th minute after having a goal disallowed for offside in the 23rd.
• Niccolò Pisilli added the second goal in stoppage time.
• Gasperini's team has kept three clean sheets in their first four matches.
• Roma are sole leaders before Inter face Udinese later on Monday.

Malen makes the difference after an early offside scare

Donyell Malen produced the game-changing moment for the visitors. The Dutch forward, who previously played for Aston Villa and Borussia Dortmund, thought he had given Roma the lead in the 23rd minute, only for the referee to rule the goal out for offside. Rather than drop his head, he kept pushing until he found the breakthrough shortly before half-time.

In the 40th minute, Malen popped up inside the penalty area once more, reacting quickest to a loose ball and diverting it home from close range. The striker's clever finish put the Giallorossi ahead on the stroke of the interval. It was his fifth goal of the season and further evidence of his central role in Gasperini's attacking setup.

Gasperini manages the lead and Pisilli wraps it up late

The second half followed a different script. Torino, with Ignazio Abate in charge, pushed higher up the pitch and searched for an equaliser, but Roma defended with discipline and kept yet another clean sheet. The substitutions made by the Bergamo-born coach added energy to the side and helped neutralise the home team's late pressure.

With the game deep into stoppage time, Niccolò Pisilli made sure of the result. The midfielder found the net to make it 0-2 and sparked wild celebrations among the travelling Roma fans, who are beginning to believe their club can mount a serious title challenge.

Four wins from four as Roma look down on the rest

The victory gives Roma a near-flawless start to the league campaign: four matches, four wins and just one goal conceded. Those are the numbers of a genuine title contender, and exactly what the capital club's supporters have been waiting more than two decades to see. Since their last scudetto, Roma have watched from a distance as Inter, Juventus, Milan and Napoli shared out the domestic honours.

Gasperini's arrival at the Stadio Olimpico has transformed the mentality of the squad. Players such as Paulo Dybala, Matías Soulé and Mario Hermoso have raised their level under his guidance, and the team is now competing with the consistency required to challenge for the Italian title. The only concern from the night, if any, was the late spell of pressure from a Torino side that pushed hard but failed to find a way through.

What is at stake for Roma in the coming weeks

The challenge for Roma now is to maintain this rhythm. Winning in September guarantees nothing in a league that is decided in May, but sitting alone at the top confirms that Gasperini's project is built to compete. Every weekend offers another test for a team finally going toe-to-toe with the traditional powers from northern Italy.

Inter, the defending champions, had the chance to match Roma's perfect start on Monday night when they faced Udinese. The gap between the two sides will shape the pressure on Gasperini's team heading into the next round of fixtures, with no European distractions at this stage of the season.

Abate's Torino come away empty-handed

The home side entered the match hoping to spring a surprise, but ultimately paid the price for a lack of cutting edge in the final third. Under Ignazio Abate, Torino have collected just one win from their last four matches, a return that leaves them struggling to keep pace with the leading pack. Their second-half response came too late and lacked the precision needed to trouble Roma's rearguard.