Roma continue winning run away at Empoli

ROMA – AS Roma recorded their fourth win in a row on Saturday against a struggling Empoli.

 In a fairly even first half, Roma took the lead through summer signing Steven Nzonzi. The French midfielder headed into the bottom corner from a Luca Pellegrini freekick 10 minutes before half-time. Having conceded a goal before the break, Empoli came out strongly after half-time. They should have found an equaliser, as a series of chances fell to striker Francesco Caputo, the first of which was a penalty, which he blazed over the bar. He was then played through by the midfield but fired into the side-netting.

 As Empoli failed to capitalise on their control of the game, managing only four shots on target out of twenty, Roma showed their clinical quality. On 85 minutes, Edin Dzeko, on the back of a hat-trick in the Champions League, found the net again to seal the three points with a deft chip over the goalkeeper. Roma continue their rise up the table, now within just two points of third place.

 Juventus improved their record start with an eighth successive win in the Serie A. The centre of controversy in the past week, Ronaldo did not let off-field matters affect his performance, starring in a comfortable 2-0 win against Udinese. Two goals in four minutes towards the end of the first half sealed the game for Juventus, as they continue their domination of the league this season.

 The Old Lady’s closest rivals, Napoli, recovered from defeat at the hands of the league leaders the previous week to record a 2-0 victory over Sassuolo. Poor distribution in defence from Sassuolo lead to an early goal from Napoli, as Adam Ounas pounced on a loose ball and finished emphatically. Yet another goal for Lorenzo Insigne mid-way through the second-half sealed the game, before Sassuolo were reduced to 10-men late on after a cynical tackle from da Silva.

 Both Milan teams tasted victory, Inter moving up to third in the table, as Milan reached ninth. Higuain twice found the target for Milan in their 3-1 win against Chievo, who remain rooted to the bottom of the table. Another Argentinian striker was the match-winner for Inter, star striker Mauro Icardi also bagging a brace away at SPAL.

 Fiorentina slipped down to seventh in the table after their narrow loss to Lazio. Despite having 61% possession, the away side couldn’t find an opening throughout the game. Ciro Immobile’s goal on 37 minutes proved the difference between the teams and put Lazio into the top four.

 In perhaps the most dramatic game of the weekend, Frosinone managed to come back from two goals down against Torino, hoping to claim a precious point, only to be denied by a winner from Alejandro Berenguer. The winger curled a shot perfectly into the top corner from 20 yards to end Frosinone’s hopes of completing an unlikely comeback. The Turin side have risen 12th, while Frosinone remain 19th, with just one draw after eight games.

 Elsewhere, Sampdoria climbed to fifth with a 1-0 victory away at Atalanta, Cagliari won 2-0 against a struggling Bologna, and mid-table Parma beat Genoa 3-1.