Roma defeated Sassuolo 2-0 at the Mapei Stadium on Tuesday evening in Serie A, earning themselves back-to-back league victories.
Mohamed Salah ended a three-month dry spell, striking from outside the area past Andrea Consigli. Radja Nainggolan was dismissed late on, leading to a penalty that Domenico Berardi fluffed five minutes from time. Stephan El Shaarawy netted a last minute goal to secure the win.
The Giallorossi came with every intention to build on their previous victory, the first of Luciano Spalletti’s reign, but it was Sassuolo who had the first chance of the match after five minutes via a well-hit effort from Nicola Sansone.
Despite the Neroverdi’s bright start, it was the travellers who would take the game by the scruff of its neck and grab the game’s first goal. Salah took the ball within his stride before the Egyptian curled his shot effortlessly into the far corner.
The aforementioned opener allowed Roma to quell the attacks of Sassuolo and, in doing so, put themselves in the ascendancy. Far more attacking right from the start of the second-half, Berardi took aim and fired a fierce shot that Wojciech Szczesny was gratefully equal to.
The change in momentum, however, allowed Roma to spread the play and penetrate the open space. Such a tactic allowed Salah to dribble into the box only to be thwarted by Consigli this time around, 15 minutes into the second-half.
In the final five minutes Nainggolan was penalised for a foul that saw the Belgian receive a second yellow and was rightly dismissed. Berardi had the chance to level the match from the spot, but completely ballooned his effort high over the bar.
El Shaarawy handed all three points with the final kick of the game to seal the victory ahead of hosting Sampdoria on Saturday; Sassuolo face Palermo.
