Brighton 3-0 Roma: Another defeat for the Giallorossi in the UK

Roma were soundly beaten by Premier League opposition in Brighton on the English South Coast on Saturday afternoon with goals from Georginio Rutter and Yasin Ayari (x2) in a disappointing end to the Giallorossi pre-season tour of the UK.

This was Roma’s final friendly of their mini pre-season tour of the UK, which also included a surprise 4-1 defeat against Cardiff City and a 4-1 victory over Newport County.

The last time Roma and Brighton met came in the 2023-24 Europa League Round of 16, which Roma won 4-1 on aggregate thanks to a 4-0 victory at the Stadio Olimpico in the first leg.

BRIGHTON, ENGLAND – MARCH 14: Sardar Azmoun of AS Roma scores an overhead kick goal that is later disallowed during the UEFA Europa League 2023/24 round of 16 second leg match between Brighton & Hove Albion and AS Roma at the Brighton & Hove Albion Stadium on March 14, 2024 in Brighton, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images) Gasperini named a strong Giallorossi XI on the English South Coast, opting for a front three of Donyell Malen, Paulo Dybala and Matias Soule. Neil El-Aynaoui partnered Bryan Cristante in midfield with Wesley and Devyne Rensch at wing-back. Summer signings Santiago Castro and Konstantinos Koulierakis were named among the substitutes.

Click here to read more about how today’s teams lined up.

NEWPORT, WALES – AUGUST 04: Gian Piero Gasperini, Head Coach of AS Roma, looks on before the pre-season friendly match between Newport County and AS Roma at Rodney Parade on August 04, 2026 in Newport, Wales. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images) Mile Svilar was called into action to save the first shot on target of the game six minutes in, getting down low to deny Georgino Rutter on his near side.

Georginio almost wheeled away celebrating the spectacular 10 minutes in, bending a wicked strike towards the top corner from the edge of the area, which drew a top-tier save from the Giallorossi stopper.

Roma’s first attempt on target came courtesy of Dybala in the 19th minute: He received a cut-back from Wesley on the left flank, but saw his effort deflected, which took all the sting out of it and did not trouble Bart Verbruggen in the Seagulls’ net.

Malen came closer shortly afterwards, rifling a shot towards the roof of the net from the edge of the penalty area, but his strike whistled just over the crossbar.

Wesley went for an interesting attempt on the left corner of the six-yard box just shy of the half hour mark, attempting to dink the ball into the top corner at the near post, which eventually nestled on the roof of the net.

In the following phase of the game, Georginio, who had threatened twice early on, was allowed a yard of space on the edge of the penalty area, took a touch to set himself onto his left foot and then curled a delightful effort into the upper corner of the net beyond a helpless Svilar to make it 1-0 for the hosts.

BRIGHTON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 08: Brighton & Hove Albion players take a hydration break during the pre-season friendly match between Brighton & Hove Albion and AS Roma at American Express Stadium on August 08, 2026 in Brighton, England. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images) Defensively, Roma were in a mess for Brighton’s second. Initially, Wesley had done well to match the speedy Yankubah Minteh in a foot race across half the length of the pitch when Brighton broke on the counter, but a combination of him, El-Aynaoui, Cristante and Gianluca Mancini were all unable to stop Ayari from poking the ball home for 2-0.

It took just three minutes of the second half for Brighton to add their third of the afternoon. The two previous goalscorers combined as Georginio squared to Ayari in the area to convert past Svilar.

BRIGHTON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 08: Yasin Ayari of Brighton & Hove Albion scores the third goal during the pre-season friendly match between Brighton & Hove Albion and AS Roma at American Express Stadium on August 08, 2026 in Brighton, England. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images) Concerningly for Roma is the fact that Georginio probably should have made it four in the following attack of the game, ending up practically one-on-one with Svilar after a run down the right, but an awkward bounce saw the ball come off the Brighton striker’s shin rather than his laces.

A combined 20 substitutes were introduced by full-time, which, as it often does, had an impact on the way the rest of the game played out. Roma were afforded a lot more of the ball with Brighton three goals to the good, and it largely became an exercise in seeing the game out for the hosts.

Brighton 3-0 Roma  Georginio 29’, Ayari 40’, 49’.

Brighton (4-3-3): Verbruggen; Wieffer, Simmonds, Boscagli, Kadioglu; Ayari, Hinshelwood, Gross; Minteh, Georginio, Gomez. Coach: Fabian Hurzeler.

Subs: McGill, Dunk, Osman, Cashin, Kostoulas, Costinha, Cozier-Duberry, De Cuyper, Yalcouye, Yohanna, Middleton.

Roma (3-4-2-1): Svilar; Mancini, Ndicka, Hermoso; Rensch, El Aynaoui, Cristante, Wesley; Dybala, Soulé; Malen. Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini.

Subs: Gollini, Di Marzi, Ghilardi, Ziolkowski, Koulierakis, Nardin, Reale, Mannini, Lulli Panico, Cherubini, Vaz, Castro.