Roma beat Sassuolo 3-0 at the Olimpico to climb to second in Serie A

Hermoso and an own goal open the scoring

Roma beat Sassuolo 3-0 at the Olimpico on Saturday, 7 November, in the 11th round of Serie A. Sassuolo held out for 27 minutes before the hosts broke through, with Mario Hermoso scoring with a powerful left-footed strike. Three minutes later Sebastian Walukiewicz diverted a Donyell Malen shot into his own net to double the lead. Il Messaggero described the goal as a Malen effort that went in after two Sassuolo players touched it, while ANSA and Fanpage recorded it as an own goal. Sassuolo had created little before the break, and Jay Idzes's chance just before half-time was one of their few openings.

Roma pull away after the break

Roma controlled the second half and created several chances, although not all of them were taken. Soule rounded the goalkeeper but, with an open net in front of him, squared the ball for Malen, who lost time and was dispossessed. Rodrigo Mora made it 3-0 in the 13th minute of the second half with a diagonal shot that hit the far post on its way in. Il Messaggero called it Mora's third goal in a row. Gian Piero Gasperini brought Marten de Roon on once the game was settled.

Roma climb as Lazio lead the table

Roma moved up to second for one night, one point behind leaders Lazio. They arrived at the 11th round unbeaten in Serie A, and the win carried them past Inter, who Fanpage put two points behind. Roma have scored 28 goals, the most in the league, while Sassuolo have conceded 26, the most of any side. The result followed a 3-2 Champions League defeat at Manchester United, which Dutch coverage called painful. Sources differ on Sassuolo's form: ANSA counted this as a fifth straight defeat, while Fanpage described the side as arriving on a third consecutive league win.

Roma goals scored28

Sassuolo goals conceded26

Roma goals scored

28 goals

Sassuolo goals conceded

26 goals

Data from the article text

Malen, Idzes and the coming week

Donyell Malen stayed on eight league goals, with only Gustavo Varela of Monza ahead of him in the Serie A scoring charts. Malen had a good chance to add to his tally but did not find the target. Jay Idzes, the Indonesian international playing for Sassuolo, was tasked with keeping Malen and Roma quiet, and he kept Malen from scoring but not Roma. Malen will report to the Netherlands squad next week, where coach Xavi Hernandez will get to see him. He missed the previous international break after an injury shortly before it.

Next round

Lazio face Napoli on Sunday, 8 November at 12:30, and Inter host Como that evening. Saturday's match was the last Serie A round before the international break. The results of those two fixtures will determine whether Roma keep second place.