Roma ended their pre-season tour of England with a 3-0 defeat to Brighton, exposing defensive concerns ahead of the new Serie A season.

Roma’s difficult pre-season tour of the United Kingdom ended with another defeat as Brighton cruised to a 3-0 victory on Saturday. Georginio Rutter opened the scoring before Yasin Ayari struck twice to condemn Gian Piero Gasperini’s side to a second heavy loss in three games.

Roma had arrived on the south coast looking to finish their mini-tour after a 4-1 defeat to Cardiff City and a 4-1 victory over Newport County. Gasperini named a strong starting XI, with Donyell Malen, Paulo Dybala and Matias Soulé leading the attack, while new signings Santiago Castro and Konstantinos Koulierakis began on the bench.

Brighton started with greater attacking intent, forcing Mile Svilar into an early save from Rutter. The Roma goalkeeper was then tested again when the Brighton forward curled a spectacular effort towards the top corner, only for Svilar to produce an excellent stop. 

Roma eventually created chances of their own, with Dybala seeing an effort deflected before Malen fired narrowly over the crossbar.

The pressure finally told in the 30th minute when Rutter was given too much space outside the penalty area. The Frenchman took a touch onto his left foot before curling a superb finish into the top corner, leaving Svilar with no chance and giving Brighton a deserved lead.

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Roma’s defensive problems became more obvious for the second goal. Wesley initially did well to keep pace with Yankubah Minteh during a Brighton counter-attack, but Roma failed to deal with the danger after the ball entered the area. Several defenders were unable to stop Ayari, who eventually poked the ball past Svilar to make it 2-0.

Brighton needed just three minutes after the restart to extend their advantage. Rutter turned provider this time, finding Ayari inside the penalty area and allowing the midfielder to complete his brace. 

Roma were fortunate not to concede a fourth shortly afterwards when Rutter found himself almost one-on-one with Svilar but failed to make proper contact with his finish.

The game lost some of its intensity after both sides made wholesale changes, with 20 substitutes introduced before the final whistle.  Roma enjoyed more possession during the closing stages but could not find a way through, leaving Gasperini with plenty to consider before the competitive season begins. 

The defeat highlights defensive weaknesses that Roma will need to address quickly, particularly after conceding seven goals across their two defeats in England.