Roma kept Sassuolo scoreless and created far more than usual
AS Roma3 – 0Sassuolo 
Roma beat Sassuolo 3-0 at the Stadio Olimpico, and the gap in chances was wider than the gap in goals.
Mario Hermoso put Roma ahead in the 27th minute, and an own goal from Sebastian Walukiewicz three minutes later made it two. By the half-hour mark the match had already taken its shape, with the home side well in front and Sassuolo working to catch up.
Roma had 64% of the ball, above the 56.6% they average in home matches this season. Sassuolo, who usually keep 48% of possession when they travel, were held to 36%. A bigger share of the ball is only part of the picture, though, because the more telling figures came from what Roma did with it.
Ball possession
Roma took 28 shots, 25 of them from inside the box, where they average 18.2 shots per home game. Their expected goals figure, a score that rates each chance by how often similar efforts go in, came to 3.47 against a usual 2.19. A typical side in this league records 1.49 expected goals per match, so this was a far more dangerous evening than most.
Sassuolo's side of the story runs the other way. They managed six shots and only one on target, and their expected goals stood at 0.3, against an away average of 1.22. They scored nothing, when they usually find the net 1.6 times on the road, and the visitors never looked likely to change the scoreline.
Rodrigo Mora made it 3-0 in the 58th minute, finishing a move that Donyell Malen started. Roma kept a clean sheet, which matters against a side that concedes 1 goal per home game on average. Hermoso, who scored the opener, was rated 8.4 for his evening and won nine duels on the ground.
In the table, Roma sit third with 24 points from ten matches. Sassuolo are 17th, with 8 points from ten away games, 16 goals scored and 26 conceded on their travels. Those are the two positions the result leaves in place, and they are a long way apart.
Sassuolo's last six matches have brought five defeats and a draw, with 8 goals scored and 19 conceded. Roma, meanwhile, have now won seven of their ten home matches this season.
Hermoso1 goal
Rodrigo Mora1 goal
L. Balerdi2 shots on target
E. Ndicka2 chances created