Gian Piero Gasperini was concerned about the extent of Lorenzo Pellegrini's injury after Roma's 4-0 win over Slovan Bratislava.

Roma failed to win their opening two Champions League fixtures, drawing with Fenerbahce before losing in dramatic fashion to Real Madrid.

However, they swatted aside Slovan in style on Tuesday to get up and running.

Mario Hermoso, Nahuel Molina, Niccolo Pisilli and Donyell Malen were on target, but captain Pellegrini was forced off with a muscular issue early in the second half.

As quoted by Football Italia, Gasperini told Sky Sport Italia: "I saw very important responses from the squad, because the fixture list is packed and I need everyone to be up to the task.

"This allows us to go forward with confidence and expand the list of potential starters in this team. My only worry is that now we've got Bryan Cristante back on the bench, we risk losing Pellegrini for a while."

Gasperini subsequently confirmed Pellegrini faces around three weeks out.

"I don't think it's serious. Even though it's a minor injury, when it's a muscle injury it takes 20 days," he said.

"I think it's of that magnitude. Now this week we have an extra day before Napoli, then we have a series of games every three days.

"The attacking line is crucial now, in terms of substitutions, quality, and numbers. So we're facing a series of games where, if we don't get [Paulo] Dybala back quickly, we'll definitely be short-handed."

Roma dominated from the off, with Slovan managing just a single shot, which was worth a meagre 0.02 expected goals.

Gasperini's team ended a run of five games without a win in major European competitions (D3 L2), with this their first victory since beating Stuttgart 2-0 in the Europa League in January.

This was Roma's first win in the Champions League since February 2019, when they beat Porto 2-1.

#ASRoma #UCL https://t.co/rzUsNh2hKk

— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) October 20, 2026

Hermoso put them ahead in the 21st minute. With Daniele Ghilardi providing the assist, it marked the first time two defenders have combined for a Champions League goal for Roma since September 2015, when Lucas Digne assisted Vasilis Torosidis against BATE Borisov.

Molina doubled Roma's lead before the break, with Pisilli and Malen then completing the rout in the second half.

Malen is the first player to be involved in a goal in each of Roma's first three matches of a Champions League campaign, with the Dutchman scoring three goals and providing two assists so far.

"It was important for us to have the right approach from the start, both because we needed three points," Gasperini said. "There are no easy games in the Champions League. I liked the way we played."

Slovan have now lost all 11 of their Champions League matches, extending their record of the most games played by a team in the competition to have lost 100% of them.

Tougher tests are to come for Roma next month, with away games against Manchester United and holders Paris Saint-Germain next up.

"They are incredible tests and give us the opportunity to grow even more," added Gasperini. "This is the spirit with which we will approach those games."