Lecce - Atalanta 2-1
Lecce claimed their first home victory of the season, as they defeated Atalanta BC 2-1 at the Stadio Comunale Via del Mare. The away side went into the game with a near-perfect away record, having failed to win on the road just once in Serie A this term.
Lecce deservedly took the lead just before the half hour mark through Federico Baschiritto, as the centre back directed a lovely cushioned header beyond the reach of Marco Sportiello.
The Giallorossi were playing with a swagger that they’d lacked so far this season, and got their second just 90 seconds later, as Federico Di Francesco scored his first goal of the season after rounding Sportiello and coolly placing his effort into the bottom corner.
Atalanta needed a hero If they were to keep their unbeaten away record intact, and it came as little surprise to see Duvan Zapata bring La Dea back to life, after registering assists in both of his previous two clashes with the hosts.
This time he did more than merely provide though, showing the foresight to find a pinpoint pass from Ruslan Malinovsky, before rifling home a shot into the bottom-left corner for his fifth career goal against the Giallorossi.
The visitors were desperate to avoid another defeat, having lost two of their last three games, but it was Lecce who were still having the better of the chances.
In what was a prime chance to kill the game, Lecce’s top goalscorer Gabriel Strefezza stung the palms of Sportiello after drilling a low shot towards the bottom left corner, while the visitors struggled to cause any real issues for Lecce at the other end - even in the dying moments, when many expected one final storm from La Dea.
If anything, the home side looked the more likely to grab the fourth goal, and they claimed a crucial three points in their battle against relegation, as they moved up to 16th with a five-point gap on the bottom three.
Atalanta, on the other hand, look to be losing their grip on their spot in the top four, as they now have just a one point gap between themselves and Roma in fifth place.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Federico Baschirotto (Lecce)
Check out the stats from the game with Flashscore.
Sassuolo - Roma 1-1
Late drama at the Mapei Stadium saw a cagey match erupt, as Sassuolo came from behind to rescue a 1-1 draw with Roma, the fourth game from the last five to end level.
Both teams entered this contest off the back of a 1-0 defeat, which saw the managers make a combined nine alterations. This translated into a disjointed opening from the two sides, although things momentarily clicked for Sassuolo just after the quarter-hour mark.
Luca D’Andrea cut inside Nicola Zalewski before firing wide, and that was quickly followed by a Davide Frattesi strike that forced an impressive fingertip save from Rui Patricio.
Having been handed his first start in any competition this season, Eldor Shomurodov had both of Roma’s big early chances either side of an ambitious Armand Lauriente strike that fizzed narrowly past the post.
However, the Uzbekistan international could only conjure two tame attempts that were routinely dealt with by Andrea Consigli.
In a game that had been filled with attacking frustrations, Frattesi, Shomurodov and Zalewski all failed to convert clear chances late in the half as the game remained goalless at the break.
Shortly after rejecting a place in Australia’s squad for the FIFA World Cup, 18-year-old Cristian Volpato was trying to make things happen in his first Serie A start, while the Neroverdi also had some nice passages of play, but everything seemed to break down when either team started to advance on goal.
It seemed as though Hamed Traore had wasted the second half’s best opportunity after being smothered by Patrício, but the game came to life in the final 10 minutes.
Having been criticised by Jose Mourinho before the game, Tammy Abraham thought he’d scored the winner when he headed Gianluca Mancini’s cross past Consigli.
However, Andrea Pinamonti responded five minutes later when he latched onto Laurienté’s low cross and got too much power on his finish for Patricio.
This ended Roma’s four-game winning run in SA away matches, while seeing Sassuolo avoid defeat for just the second time in their last six matches.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Armand Lauriente (Sassuolo)
