Roma’s difficult pre-season continued with a 4-1 defeat against Cardiff City, as Santiago Castro made his debut, Paulo Dybala scored but also missed a penalty, and Muhammed Bah had to be stretchered off in tears.

The Giallorossi are getting ready for Champions League football, but their summer preparations have been unconvincing so far, following the 3-3 draw with Cannes in a game they had led 3-0 before Wesley’s red card.

New signing Castro had only arrived from Bologna yesterday in a deal worth €35m plus add-ons, and he was immediately named in the starting XI.

It was Roma’s defending that looked all over the place, with Cian Ashford forcing the ball over the line in the third minute from an Ollie Tanner assist.

The most worrying development was not the scoreline, but the sight of midfielder Bah leaving the pitch on a stretcher in obvious distress.

He had only just returned from an anterior cruciate ligament injury, went into a challenge, and then collapsed to the turf clutching his right knee.

Wesley’s weak back-pass put Mile Svilar under pressure, allowing Yousef Salech to pounce for 2-0. Then, after Wesley was brought down by Perry Ng, Dybala hit a poor penalty straight at the goalkeeper.

Matias Soulé tested Nathan Trott, but Ashford then tapped in Cardiff City’s third after yet another embarrassing piece of defending.

Dybala made some amends for the missed penalty, first with a header that went inches wide and then by finishing a Soulé assist to make it 3-1, but Tanner capitalised on an error from Devyne Rensch to score on the counter-attack.

Roma improved after Donyell Malen came on, while Soulé looked keen to make his point now that he is on the market, but in stoppage time Daniele Ghilardi’s header from a corner crashed against the upright.

Ashford 3, 39 (C), Salech 30 (C), Dybala 59 (R), Tanner 63 (C)

Saved penalty: Dybala 35 (R)

Cardiff City: Trott (Tyrer 46); Ng (Kpakio 69), Osho (Anyadike 82), Chambers, Bagan (Moreno 82); Robertson (Robinson 78), J Colwill (Tankiewicz 82); Ashford (Turnbull 73), Tanner (King 78), Willock; Salech (Davies 78)

Roma: Svilar; Mancini (Ghilardi 46), Ndicka, Hermoso (Ziolkowski 71); Rensch (Reale 81), Cristante, Bah (Mannini 29), Wesley (Lulli 71); Dybala (Vaz 71), Soulé (Cherubini 81), Castro (Malen 67)