Coppa Italia | Roma 2-3 Torino: Arena heartbreak, Toro set up Inter quarter-final

Niccolo Pisilli got the action underway with the first shot on target after just three minutes, forcing an excellent save out of Alberto Paleari. 

Both sides had their fair share of opportunities in what was an open and often an end-to-end first-half. Adams should have done better when one-on-one with Mile Svilar 12 minutes in, but found the goalkeeper’s body instead of the bottom corner. 

Stephan El Shaarawy also found himself through on goal after an excellent first-time cross in from the right flank from Devyne Rensch half an hour in. Il Faraone attempted to dink Paleari, but got too much on it and it ended up going over the crossbar. 

Adams made the breakthrough five minutes later, lining up a shot from the right of the area, 25 yards out. His effort took a slight nick off Jan Ziolkowski, which was enough to send it into the bottom corner and beyond the outstretched Svilar for 1-0. 

Gasperini opted to change things around at the interval, bringing on Evan Ndicka after his return from the Africa Cup of Nations, and Mario Hermoso in place of Jan Ziolkowski and the cautioned Rensch. 

That call paid off immediately, as Hermoso overlapped Bailey within 30 seconds of the second half, found himself in the area and dispatched into the bottom corner of the net with the quality of a top-level centre-forward. 

The Giallorossi lead did not last for long, as Adams claimed his brace just six minutes after Hermoso’s equaliser.

Adrien Tameze’s cross in from the right took a deflection and fell to the feet of Vlasic, who tapped it to the Scotland international to finish routinely past Svilar from the middle of the area. 

Gasperini called for his big guns after falling behind, introducing Paulo Dybala and Manu Kone. There would later be an opportunity for 16-year-old Antonio Arena off the bench as well, his first appearance in senior football.

In incredible scenes, the teenager found the equaliser for Roma with his first touch of the game – and his first touch in professional football – with a brilliantly placed header. 

That goal would have sent Roma to a penalty shootout had it not been for a late slip-up at the back. Torino had a corner in the 90th minute, which Svilar spilled, allowing Ilkhan to poke home from point blank range. 

Roma are now out of the Coppa Italia having fallen at the first hurdle, and Torino will go on to meet Inter in the cup quarter-final at the beginning of February.

Roma 2-3 Torino 

Adams (T) 35’, 52’, Hermoso (R) 46’, Arena (R) 81’, Ilkhan (T) 90’.

13-01-2026 20:00 1/8 Final Stadio Olimpico

Roma

Torino 2 - 3

Player statistic

1st half

Devyne Rensch		14'
		23'		Zakaria Aboukhlal
		35'		Ché Adams (Assist: Nikola Vlasic)

2nd half

Mario Hermoso (Assist: Leon Bailey)		46'
		47'		Valentino Lazaro
		52'		Ché Adams (Assist: Nikola Vlasic)
Antonio Arena (Assist: Wesley)		81'
Daniele Ghilardi

90+2'         90'

Emirhan Ilkhan Roma Torino

Starting lineups

99

Mile Svilar Goalkeeper 87 Daniele Ghilardi Defender 2 Devyne Rensch Defender 46' 24 Jan Ziolkowski Defender 46' 43

Wesley Defender 19

Zeki Celik Defender 4

Bryan Cristante Midfielder 61 Niccolò Pisilli Midfielder 58' 31

Leon Bailey Attacker 80' 18

Matìas Soulé Attacker 58' 92

Stephan El Shaarawy Attacker 1 Alberto Paleari Goalkeeper 44

Ardian Ismajli Defender 70' 23

Saúl Coco Defender 20

Valentino Lazaro Defender 61

Adrien Tameze Midfielder 6 Emirhan Ilkhan Midfielder 66 Gvidas Gineitis Midfielder 70' 10

Nikola Vlasic Midfielder 7

Zakaria Aboukhlal Midfielder 86' 19

Ché Adams Attacker 88' 18

Giovanni Simeone Attacker

70'

Substitutes

7

Lorenzo Pellegrini Midfielder 23

Gianluca Mancini Defender 35 Tommaso Baldanzi Midfielder 3

Angeliño Defender 95

Pierluigi Gollini Goalkeeper 12

Konstantinos Tsimikas Defender 9

Artem Dovbyk Attacker 32

Devis Vásquez Goalkeeper 11

Evan Ferguson Attacker 8 Neil El Aynaoui Midfielder 66 Buba Sangaré Defender 70 Giorgio De Marzi Goalkeeper 60 Alessandro Romano Midfielder 73 Alessio Marcaccini Goalkeeper 91 Radoslaw Zelezny Goalkeeper 22

Mario Hermoso Defender 46' 5

Evan Ndicka Defender 46' 21

Paulo Dybala Attacker 58' 17

Manu Koné Midfielder 58' 68 Antonio Arena Attacker 80' 81 Franco Israel Goalkeeper 91

Duván Zapata Attacker 14

Tino Anjorin Midfielder 71 Mihai Popa Goalkeeper 93 Mattia Pellini Defender 94 Wisdom Acquah Goalkeeper 13

Guillermo Maripán Defender 70' 22

Cesare Casadei Midfielder 70' 92 Alieu Njie Attacker 70' 21

Ali Dembélé Defender 86' 26

Cyril Ngonge Attacker

88'