Roma earned a comfortable 3-0 win against Sassuolo, stretching their losing run to five matches under head coach Alberto Aquilani. Mario Hermoso broke the deadlock before an own goal doubled the hosts’ lead, with Rodrigo Mora sealing the result in the second half.
The Giallorossi reacted well after letting a two-goal advantage slip in their midweek 3-2 loss at Manchester United. Nevertheless, they continued to cope with multiple injury issues, as Pierluigi Gollini, Gianluca Mancini, and Devyne Rensch joined Paulo Dybala, along with Mile Svilar and Lorenzo Pellegrini, on the sidelines. Manu Koné was back in the squad for the first time since picking up a thigh injury on October 14.
Sassuolo came to Rome following four straight defeats and were missing Domenico Berardi, Cristian Volpato, Daniel Boloca, Ismael Koné, and Fedde Leysen. Aquilani, facing his former club for the first time, chose a 3-5-2 formation.
Roma controls first half against Sassuolo
The hosts started aggressively, forcing third-choice goalkeeper Devis Vasquez to make an early save from Nemanja Matic’s angled attempt. Sassuolo also required a goal-line clearance from Duje Caleta-Car to stop Leonardo Balerdi from scoring with a looping header after a Rodrigo Mora corner.
Mora nearly scored himself when his deflected shot grazed the crossbar, but Roma finally took the lead through Hermoso. After a combination with Donyell Malen in an attacking play, the defender got the ball back and blasted into the roof of the net from 14 yards.
Roma quickly doubled their advantage, with Malen involved again. His angled shot seemed to be going wide, but deflections off Jay Idzes and Sebastian Walukiewicz altered its path and deceived goalkeeper Muric.
Balerdi and Matias Soulé both challenged the Sassuolo defense as Roma kept creating chances. The visitors found it hard to contain their opponents, though the Giallorossi could not add another goal before halftime.
Rodrigo Mora clinches Roma’s win as Sassuolo’s slump goes on
Roma had a great chance to make it three soon after the break. Soulé beat the offside trap and went around Muric, but instead of shooting into the empty net, he tried to square the ball for Malen, who was not expecting the pass and could not capitalize.
Malen later tested Muric after being set up by Hermoso, but Roma’s third goal came from a link-up between the forward and Mora. The midfielder exchanged a give-and-go with Malen before firing a right-footed shot through Caleta-Car’s legs and into the far bottom corner.
The hosts kept threatening. Malen dribbled around Muric again but failed to finish, with Caleta-Car clearing the danger in front of the open goal. Niccolò Pisilli also forced a save at the near post.
Roma could have won by a larger margin, but the three goals were enough for a convincing result. Sassuolo suffered their fifth consecutive defeat, prolonging a tough spell for Aquilani’s team.