AS Roma defeated Sassuolo 2-0 at the Mapei Stadium on Tuesday evening, claiming back-to-back Serie A wins for the first time in four months.
Mohamed Salah scored the only goal of the first-half, striking from outside the area past host goalkeeper Andrea Consigli. Radja Nainggolan was sent-off late in the game as the home side were awarded a penalty, however, Sassuolo star striker Domenico Beradi missed the resulting spot kick and Stephan El Shaarawy made it two goals from his first two games for the Giallorossi, to seal the three points in extra time.
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Lucky Escape
Winning when playing badly is the sign of champions, at least that is how the saying goes. Yet Roma can count themselves lucky that they escaped Emilia-Romangna with all three points. Though that is not to say the visitors did not play well in the first-half. The Giallorossi deservedly took the lead early on and played as well as they have done under new coach Luciano Spalletti. Even Sassuolo boss Eusebio Di Francesco, who was part of the last Roma side to win the Scudetto back in 2001, admitted that they were worth the half time lead.
But the second 45 minutes was very different. The home side caught Roma cold after the break, Spalletti’s men never recovered and failed to impose themselves on the game. Although Wojciech Szczesny did not make too many saves in the Roma goal, the Giallorossi struggled to get out of their own half at times. It did appear that they would hang on though, until a moment of madness from the normally dependable Nainggolan. His foul in the box not only gave Sassuolo the chance to salvage something from the game, but also saw the Belgian earn a red card, which means he will miss Roma’s game against Sampdoria at the weekend. Yet in a dramatic twist Sassuolo’s Berardi ballooned his penalty high over the bar and the visitors then went up the other end and scored with the last kick of the game.
El Shaarawy continued his fine form for his new club with the second goal, which put a gloss on the result. Roma will travel back delighted with their night’s work and more importantly the three points against a good side. Yet Spalletti will know that his team will have to perform better if they are maintain their good form.
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Stunning Salah
The Egyptian winger was bought by Roma under a cloud last summer. A legal disagreement between his former club Chelsea and the side he spent the second-half of last season on loan at, Fiorentina, culminated in a ongoing summer-long saga. In the end, Roma sneaked in and got the former Basel man and to rub salt into the Viola wounds, Salah went on to score the first goal in Roma’s 2-1 win in Florence earlier in the season. On that cold October night, the Egyptian lit up the game and sent the Giallorossi to the top of Serie A. But since then both the team and the player have struggled.
Salah has been in and out of the side due to injury. Yet on another cold midweek night, the winger was back to his very best. His direct style of play and raw speed caused the Sassuolo defence numerous difficulties. His link-up play with Maicon was exceptional and the Giallorossi looked deadly on the counter-attack in the first-half. The goal he scored was stunningly similar to the one he netted at the Stadio Artemio Franchi over three months ago. It was his first since that night in Florence and how Roma have missed him.
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