How Roma Has Become The Masters Of Defending – Nobody In Europe’s Top Five Leagues Has Conceded Less This Season

This season, Roma has reinvented themselves as the masters of defending but how has the Giallorossi become so rock solid at the back? 

On matchday 11, Gian Piero Gasperini’s side temporarily moved to the Serie A summit having beaten Udinese 2-0 at the Stadio Olimpico.

Lorenzo Pellegrini and Zeki Celik scored the goals that earned another valuable three points. After the victory, Gasperini joked that he wished the international break would last longer so he could continue to bask in glory.

There’s no denying that his switch from Atalanta to the capital this season has already paid dividends. The wily old boss has certainly proved a catalyst to the Romans early-season success and mean backline.

⏱️ | Full time at the Olimpico, three more points for us 💪
#ASRoma #RomaUdinese pic.twitter.com/ET5EoGt5VP

— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) November 9, 2025

Roma Has The Best Defense In Europe

As far as Serie A transfers went in the summer, Roma spent a relatively modest amount. The Giallorossi’s outlay of €64million was the eighth-highest in Italy’s top-flight.

However, their defensive acquisitions have helped carve a superior and rock solid backline. A defense that has so far conceded just five league goals.

Alongside English Premier League giants Arsenal, no team across the continent’s top five soccer divisions has conceded less. Interestingly, Gian Piero Gasperini’s men have actually lost three times compared to the Gunners sole defeat.

Looking back to this time last year, Roma had shipped 14 times. Almost three times as much as this season’s current total. A vast improvement that has so far boded well with the club currently second in the standings.

Number Of Goals Conceded In Europe’s Top Five Leagues

• 🇮🇹 Roma – 5 goals
• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Arsenal – 5 goals
• 🇮🇹 Como – 6 goals
• 🇩🇪 Bayern Munich – 6 goals
• 🇩🇪 Borussia Dortmund – 7 goals
• 🇮🇹 Bologna – 8 goals
• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Man City – 8 goals
• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Crystal Palace – 9 goals
• 🇪🇸 Real Madrid – 10 goals
• 🇪🇸 Villarreal – 10 goals
• 🇪🇸 Atletico Madrid – 10 goals
• 🇫🇷 PSG – 11 goals
• 🇫🇷 Marseille – 11 goals
• 🇫🇷 Lens – 11 goals
• 🇩🇪 Stuttgart – 12 goals

How Many Clean Sheets Does Roma Have?

Once again – alongside Arsenal – nobody has as many shutouts as Roma so far in 2025-26. The Giallorossi has seven clean sheets to their name from 11 matchdays.

That means that opposing teams have blanked against Gian Piero Gasperini’s side 63% of the time. A truly impressive figure for a club that has already faced the likes of Bologna, Lazio and the Milan giants.

Admittedly, AC and Inter are two sides who has breached the Roma backline but only did so on one occasion each. They are just two of the three sides to net against Roma in Serie A (Torino are the other).

Compared to last term after 11 games, the Giallorossi had four clean sheets. To have three more this campaign shows just how far they have come.

Number Of Clean Sheets In Europe’s Top Five Leagues

• 🇮🇹 Roma – 7
• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Arsenal 7
• 🇩🇪 Bayern Munich 6
• 🇫🇷 PSG – 6
• 🇪🇸 Real Madrid – 6
• 🇪🇸 Villarreal – 6
• 🇮🇹 Como – 5
• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Man City – 5
• 🇩🇪 Borussia Dortmund – 5
• 🇮🇹 Como – 5
• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Crystal Palace – 5
• 🇫🇷 Marseille – 5
• 🇩🇪 Stuttgart – 4
• 🇪🇸 Atletico Madrid – 4
• 🇫🇷 Lens – 3

A Gian Piero Gasperini Masterclass?

The Gian Piero Gasperini Roma stats suggest the veteran boss is on the right trajectory to seriously challenge for the Scudetto this season.

However, how do his teams typically fare in the defensive department? Whilst looking back at his eight seasons with Atalanta, La Dea conceded a total of 396 Serie A goals.

Breaking it down per season, the best campaign came in 2024-25 when Gasperini’s men shipped 37 times. The most he has witnessed I Nerazzurri ship in a single campaign is 48 goals (three separate seasons).

As aesthetically pleasing as Atalanta were in attack, their defensive weaknesses were exposed a number of times. However, that can perhaps be blamed on his free-flowing soccer he adopted in Bergamo.

Gasperini At Roma

At Roma this term, Gasperini has once again employed his attacking philosophy but has put a much stronger emphasis on making the Giallorossi hard to score against. And so far, it has worked wonders.

Even though a number of new signings such as Kostas Tsimikas, Jan Ziolkowski, Wesley Franca, Daniele Ghilardi and two new goalkeepers have come in, it’s the old guard who has done the business so far.

Shot-stopper Mile Svilar is in the form of his life. Gianluca Mancini, Mario Hermoso and Evan Ndicka have performed extremely well in the back three. They are typically supported by Wesley and Zeki Celik.

Gasperini has almost prioritized the aforementioned players above his attacking options. Forward Evan Ferguson is injured and so far goalless and Paulo Dybala and Leon Bailey are also unavailable.

None of that has mattered as Gasperini knows his side can’t be beaten if they don’t concede. It’s as simple as that and Roma have scorers all over the pitch.

As brilliant as Gasperini’s work has been so far, legendary boss Claudio Ranieri laid the foundations from last year for the ‘Gasp’ and the Giallorossi to flourish with a new-found defensive way of thinking.

The Least Number Of Goals Roma Have Conceded In A Single Serie A Season

The least number of goals Roma has conceded in a single Serie A season is 15. That came in the 1974-75 season whereby only 30 games were played.

In the modern 38-game season that was introduced in 2004-05, their best is 25. The Giallorossi finished as runners-up that season to Juventus who conceded two less.

As it stands, Gian Piero Gasperini’s side does have the chance to beat that total of 25. There are 27 games remaining whereby they just need to concede 19 or less. Easier said than done!

However, Gasperini’s soldiers have faced just 113 shots at goal with a credible 37 of those being on target. To put that into perspective, Arsenal have entertained 57 SoT.

What Is The Serie A Record For Least Goals Conceded In A Single Campaign?

The Serie A record for least goals conceded in a single season is an honor that belongs to Cagliari. Back in the 1969-70 season, the Rossoblu shipped just 11 times.

Granted, that was whereby only 30 games were played but that is a Herculean effort, nonetheless. Unsurprisingly, they went on to win Serie A that year.

If we fast-forward to the modern era with 38-games seasons, that record is currently claimed by Juventus. The Bianconeri were breached just 20 times on their way to winning the Scudetto in 2011-12 and 2015-16.

Can Roma’s Rock Solid Defense Help Land The Scudetto?

So far in 2025-26, the Inter Milan stats highlight just how big a threat the Nerazzurri will be to Roma’s Serie A title aspirations.

In fact, history at this stage also favors Cristian Chivu’s men. However, the Giallorossi and Gian Piero Gasperini are more than capable of creating their own legacy.

Especially if their defensive masterclass continues to thwart opponents for the rest of the campaign. Granted, there is a long way to go but Roma’s rock solid backline can prove to be the catalyst of their first title win in 25 years.