Opinion: 3 notable performances in Cagliari victory

ROGER IBANEZ

Ibanez may only have entered the field in the 63rd minute, but his contribution was telling in both a defensive and attacking sense.

With Bryan Cristante, Marash Kumbulla and Gianluca Mancini all starting, Ibanez began the game on the bench alongside Federico Fazio, Juan Jesus and Chris Smalling, who all provide stiff competition to form Paulo Fonseca’s regular back-three.

It means every opportunity to stake their claims are vital for all seven of those defenders, and Ibanez seized his 30-minute opportunity by not only shoring up a Roma defence under intense examination from Cagliari, but also by spraying a truly exceptional cross-field ball to the next man on this list to provide Roma’s second goal at a crucial juncture of the match.

RICK KARSDORP

The Dutchman has been a bright spot since returning to the club in the summer and his contribution was decisive on Wednesday night.

Karsdorp provided the first two goals by bombing down the Roma right and getting to the byline before cutting back to Jordan Veretout and Edin Dzeko to tuck home the Giallorossi’s goals, with his piece of play for his captain’s tap-in that was the pick of the pair.

Running at full tilt, the 25-year-old superbly collected the ball in his stride with a stunning piece of control that took him beyond Charalampos Lykogiannis and in position to supply an inch perfect cross at the vital moment, with Roma in need of a piece of quality to put them back in front.

GONZALO VILLAR

Similar to Karsdorp, Villar is another player who is growing as a footballer with every passing matchday and the Spaniard was the Giallorossi's driving force at the Olimpico.

He will be disappointed to have conceded the late penalty for Cagliari's second - although it may yet prove a valuable lesson for the youngster - but Villar should nonetheless be pleased overall having dictated much of the show in midfield, completing 92 per cent of his 62 passes and all four of his dribbles, while winning more tackles (two) than any other Roma player as well as recovering possession a game-high seven times.

The 22-year-old’s all-round play is improving with each game, offering a combative bite in the centre of the park as well as an incisive output in possession that's making it hard for Fonseca to ignore as Villar rams home his case as the first-choice partner to Veretout.