Roma come from behind to beat Cagliari, while Lazio thrash Sassuolo 6-2
In round nine of Italy's Serie A, Roma beat Cagliari 4-2 after trailing, and city rivals Lazio won 6-2 at Sassuolo to move back to the top of the table.
Both Rome clubs won in the ninth round of Serie A, Italy's top football league. Roma beat Cagliari 4-2 at home, while Lazio defeated Sassuolo 6-2. The result sends Lazio back to first place in the standings, three points ahead of Milan's Inter.
Roma 4-2 Cagliari
The match began badly for the hosts: after a corner, a Roma midfielder stopped the ball with his hand, and following a VAR (video assistant referee) review, the visitors were awarded a penalty. Cagliari forward Mbala Ncola converted it to take the lead.
Roma turned the game around quickly. After a mistake in the visitors' defence they counter-attacked, and Emanuele Luli equalised with a header; soon afterwards Nikolo Pisili made it 2-1. In the second half the visitors levelled in the 81st minute, when Daniel Maldini beat the goalkeeper one-on-one. The match was decided by substitutes: after a cross from Daniele Gilardi, Rodrigo Mora headed in the third goal, and a couple of minutes later Donyell Malen, scoring his seventh of the season, set the final score.
Sassuolo 2-6 Lazio
Lazio secured their fifth straight win. Four goals arrived in the first 20 minutes: Lazio scored three times and an own goal added another. Sassuolo midfielder Kristian Thorstvedt was sent off, leaving his side with ten men. Sebastiano Esposito scored the hosts' second, but Lazio led 4-2 by half-time. After the break they were awarded two penalties and added two more goals.
In the table, Lazio have 25 points, Inter 22 and Roma 21.
