In their third Europa League match of the season under a third different manager, Viktoria Plzeň made an impeccable start under Martin Hyský, exploiting a complacent Roma defence to claim a stunning 2-1 victory at the Olimpico.

Early on, Prince Kwabena Adu came close with a near-post volley, but on 20 minutes he found the net to send the home crowd reeling. Collecting the ball on the left, the Ghanaian shrugged off Jan Ziolkowski, penetrated the area, and calmly lifted it over Mile Svilar to open the scoring.

The goal thrilled Hyský, who celebrated his first goal as a European coach, but Viktoria were not content to rest on their laurels. Shortly after, the ball fell to Cheick Souaré in midfield, and the midfielder unleashed a thunderous left-foot strike from 25 yards into the bottom corner, doubling the visitors’ lead.

Despite efforts from Wesley, Roma struggled to create meaningful chances in the first half. Viktoria’s solid defending, led by Sampson Dweh, ensured the Czech side maintained their advantage going into the break.

Roma responded early in the second half. A VAR review saw Václav Jemelka penalised for a handball from Matías Soulé’s header, and Paulo Dybala calmly converted the resulting penalty to reduce the deficit.

From there, Roma bombarded the Viktoria goal, but even late efforts from substitutes Leon Bailey and Evan Ndicka could not break down a resilient backline. The away fans erupted as the final whistle confirmed a historic win.

Hyský’s perfect European debut sees Viktoria rise comfortably into the top eight of the group. In contrast, Roma, with just three points from three matches and a struggling home record, may now need to rely on their upcoming away fixtures against Rangers and Celtic to salvage their continental campaign.