AS Roma moved to within a point of Serie A leaders and arch-rivals Lazio following an emphatic 3-0 victory over Sassuolo at the Stadio Olimpico – a result which continues the Giallorossi’s unbeaten start to the league campaign.
As they looked to respond to a bruising midweek defeat to Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League, the hosts dominated possession in the opening stages and were desperately close to taking the lead after 12 minutes through Leonardo Balerdi, but his close-range header was superbly cleared off the line by Duje Caleta-Car.
The Giallorossi eventually took the lead before the half-hour, as Mario Hermoso rifled the ball past Arijanet Muric from 15 yards for his eighth Roma goal, all of which have come at the Olimpico.
After breaking the deadlock, Gian Piero Gasperini’s side continued to attack in numbers and doubled their advantage just three minutes later when Sebastian Walukiewicz inadvertently steered the ball into his own net.
The Neroverdi defence was constantly under pressure throughout the first half, and only an impressive save from Muric to tip the ball around the post stopped the Giallorossi from netting a third through Balerdi.
The Kosovan goalkeeper was needed again moments later to palm away a stinging effort from Matias Soule, before Jay Idzes wasted a great opportunity for the visitors on the counter shortly before the interval.
The hosts really should have extended their lead just three minutes after the restart, but Donyell Malen squandered a huge chance with the goal at his mercy after Soule had rounded the goalkeeper and laid on a square pass.
Malen almost made amends 10 minutes into the second half, but he was denied by an excellent stop from Muric.
Roma were unperturbed by those missed opportunities, and deservedly netted a third goal of the evening through a neat finish from Rodrigo Mora after he was teed up by Malen.
With the damage already done, the Giallorossi comfortably managed the closing stages of the contest to cruise to another three points and register their fifth straight head-to-head victory over the Neroverdi in Serie A.
Roma have now gone unbeaten through the opening 11 games of a Serie A campaign for only the third time in their history. Meanwhile, Sassuolo’s concerning start to the season continues with a fifth successive league defeat, which sees them drop to 17th in the table ahead of the international break.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Mario Hermoso (AS Roma)
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