Roma went top of the Serie A table as Stephan El Shaarawy fired in a stoppage time winner to secure a 2-1 victory over Sassuolo on Sunday.
The Italian international bent in an effort off the far post to send the Stadio Olimpico into raptures and maintain the Giallorossi’s perfect start under Jose Mourinho.
Bryan Cristante had earlier given Roma the lead, before Filip Djuricic equalised for Sassuolo. Rui Patricio produced a series of fine stops to keep the Lupi in it, before El Shaarawy’s stunning impact.
Player ratings:
Rui Patricio 8; Karsdorp 6.5 (’88 Reynolds N/A), Mancini 6.5, Ibanez 6, Vina 5.5; Cristante 7, Veretout 5.5 (’74 Perez ); Zaniolo 5.5 (’74 Shomurodov 6), Pellegrini 7.5, Mkhitaryan 6 (’70 El Shaarawy 7.5); Abraham 6
Player of the match: Rui Patricio
Roma have been searching for a safe pair of hands since Alisson departed in 2018, and look to have finally found one in the Portuguese. The summer arrival from Wolverhampton Wanderers pulled off two wonderful blocks to deny Sassuolo before Roma’s winner and could be crucial to the Giallorossi’s ambitions.
