Mourinho-less Roma loses 4-3 against Sassuolo in Serie A

Sassuolo takes advantage of Roma’s defensive woes

Jose Mourinho was absent from the bench as Roma lost 4-3 at home to Sassuolo on Sunday. Armand Laurienté scored twice for Sassuolo before Nicola Zalewski pulled one back. However, Roma’s Marash Kumbulla got a red card for violent conduct, and Domenico Berardi converted the resulting penalty. Roma’s Paulo Dybala scored at the start of the second half, but Andrea Pinamonti all but sealed the result 15 minutes later. Georginio Wijnaldum scored one at the end.

Roma slips up

Roma remained even with AC Milan, who will play Salernitana on Monday. Lazio was two points ahead of Roma and Milan, having drawn at Bologna on Saturday. Inter was one point further ahead after an unexpected loss at Spezia on Friday. Mourinho will not be able to play in Roma’s next Serie A match against Lazio.

Sassuolo takes the lead

Wijnaldum missed a clear chance for Roma during the early minutes of the match. Sassuolo scored in the 13th minute when Laurienté tapped in the rebound after Chris Smalling charged down Davide Frattesi’s shot, and Pinamonti’s effort was parried by Rui Patrício. Laurienté doubled their lead five minutes later. Roma recovered and pulled one back when Zalewski’s volley bounced into the ground and over Consigli.

Things got worse for Roma

Roma’s Marash Kumbulla got a red card for violent conduct near the end of the first half, and Berardi drilled home the spotkick. Dybala sent a swerving effort into the top-right corner five minutes later, and Sassuolo almost immediately restored its two-goal advantage but Berardi’s shot clipped the crossbar. Sassuolo sealed the result when Laurienté set up Pinamonti’s goal. Wijnaldum reduced the deficit in stoppage time.

Juventus beat Sampdoria despite missing penalty

Juventus beat Sampdoria 4-2 despite missing a penalty. The Bianconeri, with hefty points punishment, moved to within four points of sixth-place Atalanta. Bremer and Adrien Rabiot gave Juventus 2-0 lead after 26 minutes. Sampdoria leveled it in the 32nd after Tommaso Augello and Filip Đuričić scored in under 90 seconds. Rabiot doubled the tally in the 64th, but Dušan Vlahović missed the penalty. Matías Soulé scored for Sampdoria in stoppage time.

VAR rescues Hellas Verona in 1-1 draw against Monza

Monza drew 1-1 against Hellas Verona, which inched to within five points of safety and 17th-place Spezia. Stefano Sensi scored for the visitors while Simone Verdi scored the equalizer. Gianluca Caprari’s goal for Monza was disallowed for a tight offside decision.

Cremonese level with Sampdoria

Cremonese drew 0-2 against Fiorentina and was 12 points from safety level with Sampdoria. Torino won 2-0 at Lecce.

Credit: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/soccer/2023/03/12/mourinho-roma-dybala-juventus-serie-a/491bb096-c10d-11ed-82a7-6a87555c1878_story.html

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