Roma claimed a comfortable 3-0 win against Sassuolo, condemning the visitors to their fifth straight defeat under head coach Alberto Aquilani. Mario Hermoso broke the deadlock before an own goal doubled the home side’s lead, and Rodrigo Mora sealed the result in the second half.
The Giallorossi produced a positive response after letting a two-goal advantage slip in their midweek 3-2 loss at Manchester United. Nevertheless, they continued to grapple with multiple injury concerns, 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 problem on October 14.
Sassuolo traveled to Rome on the back of four successive losses and were missing Domenico Berardi, Cristian Volpato, Daniel Boloca, Ismael Koné, and Fedde Leysen. Aquilani, squaring off against his former club for the first time, chose a 3-5-2 setup.
Roma dominates the first half against Sassuolo
The home team started aggressively, forcing third-choice goalkeeper Devis Vasquez into an early stop from Nemanja Matic’s angled strike. Sassuolo also required a goal-line clearance from Duje Caleta-Car to deny Leonardo Balerdi, whose looping header from a Rodrigo Mora corner threatened the net.
Mora went close himself when his deflected effort brushed the crossbar, but Roma finally made the breakthrough through Hermoso. After a combination with Donyell Malen in an attacking sequence, the defender got the ball back and blasted into the roof of the net from 14 yards out.
Roma wasted little time doubling their advantage, with Malen once again at the heart of the action. His angled attempt looked destined to go 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 generating chances. The visitors found it difficult to contain their opponents, though the Giallorossi could not add another goal before the break.
Rodrigo Mora confirms Roma’s win as Sassuolo’s struggles persist
Roma had a golden chance to grab a third shortly after the interval. Soulé beat the offside trap and rounded Muric, but rather than shooting into the empty net, he tried to square the ball to Malen, who was not anticipating the pass and failed to capitalize.
Malen later tested Muric after being released by Hermoso, but Roma’s third goal ultimately arrived through a link-up between the forward and Mora. The midfielder exchanged a give-and-go with Malen before drilling a right-footed strike through Caleta-Car’s legs and into the far bottom corner.
The hosts kept pressing. Malen dribbled past Muric once more but could not finish, with Caleta-Car clearing the danger in front of the open goal. Niccolò Pisilli also drew a save at the near post.
Roma could therefore have won by an even larger margin, but the three goals proved sufficient for a convincing result. Sassuolo endured their fifth consecutive defeat, prolonging a tough spell for Aquilani’s side.