At risk of losing three consecutive European home games for the first time in the club’s history, Roma had work to do if they were to turn around a patchy start to their UEL campaign (W2, L2).
However, the Giallorossi wasted no time in imposing themselves on the contest, and with seven minutes on the clock, they were ahead through Neil El Aynaoui, who delicately guided a volley from Zeki Celik’s cross beyond Elias Rafn Olafsson for his first goal for the club.
From there, Roma remained in control for the remainder of the half, coming close to doubling their advantage when Lorenzo Pellegrini’s deflected strike fizzed narrowly wide.
No side had fired more shots on target in the opening four rounds than Midtjylland (26), but as the second period got underway, the Danish side were yet to trouble Mile Svilar.
As such, their status as the only team yet to drop a single UEL point was in real danger, with the hosts continuing to push for a second goal as Matias Soule bent an effort narrowly off-target.
Paulo Dybala and Stephan El Shaarawy each tested Olafsson as Gian Piero Gasperini’s men looked the more likely to score next, yet their advantage remained slender heading into the final 20 minutes.
Svilar had to be alert on a couple of occasions to snuff out any Midtjylland threat, but he could only watch on as Junior Brumado’s header from a corner hit the crossbar.
With time running out, Roma seemingly put the game to bed with an incisive counter-attack that was capped off with a neat side-foot finish from El Shaarawy.
However, there was still time for Paulinho to sweep home a close-range shot four minutes later, casting doubt over the result in the final passages.
Ultimately, Roma did enough to see out all three points, sealing a third successive competitive victory for the first time this season.
As for Midtjylland, their best-ever winning streak in Europe comes to an end, although they remain top of the UEL league phase standings for the time being, three points ahead of Roma, who occupy a playoff spot with three games to play.