Ten-man Roma frustrated in goalless draw with Sassuolo

Rome (AFP) – Roma were left ruing missed chances after a 0-0 home draw with Sassuolo in Serie A on Sunday as both teams had goals ruled out by VAR and the hosts played the second half with 10 men.

Sassuolo are fourth in the Italian top flight on 19 points following the stalemate at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

Roma are a point behind after wasting opportunities to win despite having to play for 50 minutes with a man less.

Pedro was sent off for a second bookable offence five minutes before the break. His coach Paulo Fonseca followed him to the stands at the end of the first half after Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s goal was ruled out for a foul  by Edin Dzeko following a VAR check.

The home side dominated after the break despite being outnumbered and were unlucky to not take the lead when Leonardo Spinazzola’s cross was guided onto the post by Sassuolo defender Gian Marco Ferrari, under pressure from Dzeko.

Sassuolo thought they had snatched the points with 15 minutes left when Lukas Haraslin whipped a long-range shot past Antonio Mirante, only for the goal to be ruled out for the tightest of offsides by VAR.

“I’m very proud of my team. We played very well even when down to 10. We were very well organised defensively and didn’t allow Sassuolo many opportunities,” Fonseca told SKY

Parma’s match with newly-promoted Benevento also finished goalless while mid-table side Hellas Verona drew 1-1 with Cagliari.

Atalanta’s match at Udinese was postponed after heavy rain made the pitch unplayable.

Napoli are a point behind Roma in sixth and will have the chance to leapfrog into the top four when they face bottom side Crotone later on Sunday.

AC Milan can increase their two-point lead at the top of the table with a win at Sampdoria in one of two late matches on Sunday.