Sassuolo's hope in Rome is a Roma second half
Roma's weakness this season has been the second half of matches they were winning. Sassuolo, beaten four times running and with 16 goals conceded in those games, have rarely lasted long enough to use it.
Roma have twice let a lead go at the Olimpico this season. Inter were 2-0 down at half-time in September and drew 2-2 through two Lautaro Martínez goals; Real Madrid turned 3-1 into a 4-3 win in the Champions League. On Tuesday it happened again at Old Trafford, where Matías Soulé and Donyell Malen had Roma 2-0 up at the break and Manchester United won 3-2.
Roma should win comfortably, because a defence that has let in 16 goals in four matches can neither hold a lead nor come back from behind.
That is the one opening Sassuolo can aim at, because their own defence does not last a half. Alberto Aquilani's side have lost to Frosinone, Como, Lazio and Fiorentina in turn, conceding 16 goals in those four matches, and their 26 in ten rounds are the most in Serie A. On Monday they led Fiorentina and were still level at 2-2 midway through the second half, then lost 4-2 at home. Aquilani said on Friday that everything his players have might not be enough, "but we have to do it, because we have dignity".
Roma are the opposite case in the league: unbeaten after ten rounds, third with 24 points, and the top scorers with 28. They will be without Manu Koné, who scored both goals against Inter, as well as Mile Svilar, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Paulo Dybala, and the goals are still likely to come early.
What Sassuolo have is the man who beat Roma here before. Armand Laurienté scored twice in the first 18 minutes of their only win at the Olimpico, 4-3 in March 2023, and twice more against Fiorentina on Monday. With Domenico Berardi and Cristian Volpato out, Sassuolo's goals in Rome are likely to be his, and Roma's lead, when it comes, will have to last a whole match rather than a half.
