Donyell Malen marked his first goals at the Stadio Olimpico with a decisive brace as Roma claimed a 2-0 victory over Cagliari, drawing level on points with fourth-placed Juventus in Serie A.

Roma applied early pressure against a patched-up Cagliari defence missing the influential Yerry Mina, with Como loanee Alberto Dossena making his first appearance since last March. The defender endured a difficult return, picking up a booking inside six minutes for tripping Malen, before Evan Ndicka headed over from the ensuing free-kick.

Cagliari almost gifted Roma an opener in the 16th minute when Elia Caprile allowed a loose backpass to roll towards his own goal, only to recover just in time and clear off the line. The hosts maintained their dominance, and Malen eventually broke the deadlock in style shortly before the half-hour mark.

Timing his run perfectly, Malen latched onto Gianluca Mancini’s through ball, beat Dossena for pace and delicately lifted the ball over Caprile to score his second Roma goal since arriving on loan from Aston Villa last month.

Malen went close again before the break, while Daniele Ghilardi also headed wide, as Roma enjoyed a comfortable first half and kept a clean sheet at the interval for the 10th time in 12 home league matches this season.

The tempo dipped after the restart as Cagliari tightened up, prompting Roma boss Gian Piero Gasperini to hand Bayern Munich loanee Bryan Zaragoza his debut just before the hour mark. The move paid dividends as Roma restored their attacking edge.

Twenty minutes into the second half, Malen struck again, reacting quickest to Zeki Çelik’s low delivery to bundle the ball home from close range and effectively seal the contest.

Cagliari briefly threatened a response when Ibrahim Sulemana’s long-range effort clipped the crossbar, but it proved to be their only real moment of hope. Dossena poked wide late on, though it was too little, too late for the visitors.

The defeat leaves Cagliari 12th in Serie A and winless in their last 11 visits to Roma (D2), eight of which have ended without them scoring. Roma, meanwhile, move level with Juventus on points and trail the top four only on goal difference after ending a brief two-game league wobble (D1, L1).