Cardiff City 4-1 Roma: Castro debut, Dybala miss and serious Bah injury
Quick summary
Roma lost 4-1 to Cardiff City in a pre-season friendly, with new signing Castro making his debut. Paulo Dybala missed a chance, and Bah suffered a serious injury.
Full article
Attributed to original sourceRoma’s difficult pre-season continued with a 4-1 defeat to Cardiff City , as Santiago Castro made his debut, Paulo Dybala scored and missed a penalty, and Muhammed Bah was stretchered off in tears.
The Giallorossi are preparing for Champions League football, but have stuttered so far this summer with a 3-3 draw against Cannes that they had been leading 3-0 until the Wesley red card.
New signing Castro only arrived from Bologna yesterday for €35m plus add-ons and was thrown straight into the starting XI.
It was the defence that was chaotic, allowing Cian Ashford to bundle over the line in the third minute from an Ollie Tanner assist.
The worst news was not the result, but the sight of midfielder Bah being stretchered off the field utterly distraught.
He was just returning from an anterior cruciate ligament injury, went into a challenge and crumpled to the ground clutching his right knee.
CARDIFF, WALES – AUGUST 01: Paulo Dybala of AS Roma misses a penalty during the during the pre-season friendly match between Cardiff City and AS Roma at Cardiff City Stadium on August 01, 2026 in Cardiff, Wales. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images) Wesley’s weak back-pass made it tough for Mile Svilar, allowing Yousef Salech to pounce for 2-0, then when Wesley was brought down by Perry Ng, Dybala scuffed the penalty straight to the goalkeeper.
Matias Soulé tested Nathan Trott, but Ashford tapped in the third for Cardiff City after some more embarrassing defending.
Dybala made up for the penalty with a header inches wide and then meeting the Soulé assist for 3-1, but Tanner made the most of a Devyne Rensch error to score on the counter.
Roma did better once Donyell Malen came on, and Soulé looked eager to prove himself now he’s on the market, but in stoppages Daniele Ghilardi’s header thumped the upright on a corner.
PARMA, ITALY – MAY 10: Donyell Malen of AS Roma reacts after a missed chance during the Serie A match between Parma Calcio 1913 and AS Roma at Stadio Ennio Tardini on May 10, 2026 in Parma, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images) Cardiff City 4-1 Roma Ashford 3, 39 (C), Salech 30 (C), Dybala 59 (R), Tanner 63 (C)
Saved penalty: Dybala 35 (R)
Cardiff City: Trott (Tyrer 46); Ng (Kpakio 69), Osho (Anyadike 82), Chambers, Bagan (Moreno 82); Robertson (Robinson 78), J Colwill (Tankiewicz 82); Ashford (Turnbull 73), Tanner (King 78), Willock; Salech (Davies 78)
Roma: Svilar; Mancini (Ghilardi 46), Ndicka, Hermoso (Ziolkowski 71); Rensch (Reale 81), Cristante, Bah (Mannini 29), Wesley (Lulli 71); Dybala (Vaz 71), Soulé (Cherubini 81), Castro (Malen 67)
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What happened
Roma suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat to Cardiff City in a pre-season friendly. The match featured the debut of new signing Castro, while Paulo Dybala squandered a notable opportunity. Most concerning for Roma was a serious injury to Bah, which could have implications for the squad's availability heading into the competitive season. The result is a setback in Roma's pre-season preparations under their current manager.
Chance analysis
Pre-season friendlies often produce misleading scorelines, but the injury to Bah is the most actionable takeaway for prediction systems. Castro's debut is a positive squad addition note. A heavy defeat to Championship opposition may reflect rotation or experimental lineups, but Dybala's miss and Bah's injury are concrete data points affecting Roma's early-season readiness.
Bah's serious injury is a significant negative for Roma's defensive/midfield availability heading into the new season, while the heavy friendly loss raises minor concerns about squad sharpness.
Factor in Bah's potential absence for Roma's early Serie A fixtures; downgrade Roma's early-season confidence slightly given the injury concern and heavy pre-season loss.