Dybala and Dovbyk Shine in Roma’s Pre-Season Opener

Roma’s pre-season opened not with a gentle jog but with a statement.

A 6-0 win over their Primavera side is, on paper, a routine intra-squad exercise. What was anything but routine was the sharpness of Paulo Dybala, whose performance offered Gian Piero Gasperini exactly what he wanted to see – and perhaps needed to see – at the first real glimpse of his squad this summer.

Dybala looks ready to lead again

According to TuttoMercatoWeb, Dybala looked like the same player who dragged Roma through the final stretch of last season, when his moments of inspiration often separated survival from collapse. Here, he produced more of those flashes: an assist, two goals, and the kind of technical touches that instantly raise the tempo and the expectations around him.

The numbers from a friendly will be forgotten. The impression will not. Dybala moved with purpose, his body language that of a player who trusts his fitness again. He arrived for pre-season in notably good condition, and it showed in the way he accelerated away from markers, how cleanly he struck the ball, how often he demanded it.

Gasperini has been clear from the outset: a fully fit Dybala changes everything. The caveat has always been the same – “fitness record permitting.” On this early evidence, the coach has every reason to believe that the cornerstone of his attacking plan is ready to bear the weight again.

Dovbyk answers a different kind of question

If Dybala’s performance soothed familiar worries, Artem Dovbyk’s display addressed a different one.

The Ukrainian striker has spent the back end of last season battling a tendon problem that required surgery and robbed him of crucial minutes in the run-in. His name has since floated in transfer conversations, mentioned as a possible sale to help fund new arrivals. That kind of talk can unsettle a player. Or it can sharpen him.

Against the Primavera, Dovbyk looked more like the latter.

He scored twice and had chances for more, a reminder of the penalty-box instincts that first made him an attractive signing. Just as important as the goals was the way he moved: confident in his body again, attacking space, testing himself with sprints and sharp changes of direction that a recently-operated player might normally avoid.

For Gasperini, these next few weeks are an audition period. Dovbyk must prove he is not just fit, but essential. Performances like this push him in that direction, forcing the club to weigh up the cost of cashing in against the value of a striker who appears ready to rejoin the fight.

Roma’s summer has only just begun, but the first friendly already framed two of its key storylines: Dybala, fit and influential, and Dovbyk, back on the pitch and battling for his place. How firmly those two hold their ground may go a long way to deciding what this Roma side looks like when the real games start.