Roma defeated Sassuolo and closed in on Serie A leaders Inter Milan

Roma were three points behind Serie A leaders Inter Milan on Saturday after a hard-fought 2-0 win over Sassuolo in Rome.

Broken down by a series of injuries and players away from the Africa Cup of Nations, Roma climbed to third place thanks to quick late goals from Manu Kone and Matias Soule, who broke Sassuolo’s brave resistance.

Kone smashed home the opener with his head from Soule’s pinpoint cross in the 77th minute, causing delirium at the Stadio Olimpico.

And the fans were assured of their team’s three points two minutes later when Soule calmly curled in Stephan El Shaarawy’s delicate tap-in at the end of a fluid passing move.

Argentina forward Soule told DAZN he would buy El Shaarawy “a bottle of wine” in front of his grinning veteran teammate who hit the crossbar in stoppage time and had a goal disallowed for offside.

“Fortunately the second half was played in a different spirit than the first, the games becoming more and more open as they progressed… all we can do is continue as we are,” Soule said.

Roma, who had seven players out of action and five academy players on the bench, are level on 39 points with second-placed AC Milan, who play at Fiorentina on Sunday.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s team came up with a completely different proposal in the second half after a boring opening period in which Sassuolo – twelfth and ten points above the relegation zone – held firm.

“There was more intensity in the second half, but above all there was more quality,” said Gasperini.

“I started to see what I see in training: good play in tight situations and the ability to create danger in the opponent’s area.

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“I can only thank the players for their extraordinary commitment and character, but also for their quality.”

Both Milan and Inter, who play Napoli at the San Siro this weekend, have a match in hand against Roma due to their participation in the Italian Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.

After Napoli, Inter face lowly Lecce at home on Wednesday, while Milan make the short trip to Lombardy lakeside rivals Como the next day, whose hopes of Champions League football were somewhat dented by a 1-1 draw against 10-man Bologna.

Martin Baturina’s stunning late goal secured a point for Como, who fell behind shortly after half-time to a goal from Nicolo Cambiaghi. He was later expelled for violent behavior.

Como is four points behind fourth-placed Napoli, who will play Parma in hand on Wednesday in Naples.

Atalanta defeated Torino 2-0 and continued their climb towards the European places under Raffaele Palladino.

An early strike from Charles De Ketelaere and Mario Pasalic’s solo counter-attack in the final seconds gave Atalanta a sloppy fifth win from six league matches and moved Palladino’s side three points clear of the Conference League spot currently occupied by Como.

Published on January 11, 2026