Rome (AFP) – Roma and Sassuolo played out an entertaining goalless draw in Serie A on Sunday which saw both teams have goals ruled out by VAR and Roma play the whole second half with 10 men.

High-flying Sassuolo are fourth in the Italian top flight following the stalemate at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, with Roma a point behind the away side after missing chances 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, and his coach Paulo Fonseca followed him to the stands at the end of the fist half after Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s goal was ruled out for a foul in the build-up 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 beautiful long-range shot past Antonio Mirante, only for the goal to be ruled out for the tightest of offsides by VAR.

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

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

AC Milan meanwhile 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.