Elia Caprile was worked inside the first five minutes when he saved Gianluca Mancini’s header, but then, to the shock of the home fans, Roma gave away a penalty. Michel Adopo flicked a header towards goal from a corner, and Niccolo Pisilli handled it.
M’Bala Nzola stepped up and sent Pierluigi Gollini the wrong way - just the second first-half league goal the Giallorossi have conceded this season. However, they were not behind for long as Nahuel Molina’s cross was headed home by youngster Emanuele Lulli for his second goal in as many appearances.
The 19-year-old took control of the half from there, and he soon crossed for Santiago Castro to head just wide, before setting up Roma’s second as Pisilli made up for giving away the penalty with a tidy finish.
Caprile also saved a Matias Soule free-kick before Cagliari had chances to equalise, with Gollini denying Adopo before Nzola shot inches wide, as Roma held the advantage in the second half.
Both goalkeepers were called into action again when Caprile got behind Castro’s latest effort, before Alieu Fadera was sent through one-on-one, yet Gollini won the battle.
To their credit, Cagliari pushed until the end, and Gollini was called into action again to deny Juan Rodriguez, before making an even better save to thwart Paul Mendy’s low drive. Eventually, it appeared the visitors’ pressure paid off as Adam Obert found Daniel Maldini, who finished brilliantly into the bottom corner to level with nine minutes to play.
Determined to preserve a precious point, Caprile did well to stop Soule from putting Roma back in front, but unfortunately for Cagliari, they just could not hold on. Two substitutes combined as Daniele Ghilardi crossed for Rodrigo Mora, whose bullet header found the back of the net in the 85th minute.
And having scored nine goals in his previous 10 games, substitute Donyell Malen was bound to have a say, ensuring the three points would go to the Gialorossi after a rebound fell kindly for him to tap over the line just two minutes later. As a result, Roma close the gap to arch-rivals Lazio back to four points at the top of the table, while Cagliari have now lost three successive league matches, remaining in midtable.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Emanuele Lulli (AS Roma)