Roma head coach Gian Piero Gasperini says that he hopes Roma pick up where they left off once Serie A action resumes this weekend, and says that Jose Mourinho still has that ‘special’ something about him ahead of his return to the Stadio Olimpico with Real Madrid in the Champions League.

Roma went into the international break sitting at the top of the Serie A standings with an unbeaten record of four wins and one draw after five league matches of the 2026-27 campaign.

ROME, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 19: Manu Kone of AS Roma celebrates scoring his team’s first goal with teammates during the Serie A match between AS Roma and FC Internazionale at Stadio Olimpico on September 19, 2026 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)

The Giallorossi scored 10 goals across their first three league games of the season after 4-0 victories over Fiorentina and Lecce and a 2-1 win against Atalanta. They have also beaten Torino 2-0 and have most recently drawn 2-2 against reigning champions Inter.

Since then, there has been an abnormally long international break, featuring four Nations League fixtures instead of the usual two for European sides, which means that Gasperini has allowed a few days of holiday for his players who were not called up to their national teams.

“We had a pretty small number of players and couldn’t play any friendlies, so we went for continuity with the work that we did in the first week and then took a few days off,” Gasperini explained in an interview with Sky Sport Italia on Monday.

“Today is the last day of holiday, and from tomorrow we will get back into the league mentality, which we left during a great period of results and performances. We want to start where we left off.”

ISTANBUL, TURKEY – SEPTEMBER 10: Gian Piero Gasperini, Manager of AS Roma, gestures during the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD1 match between Fenerbahce SK and AS Roma at Fenerbahce Sükrü Saracoglu Spor Kompleksi on September 10, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Burak Kara/Getty Images)