Rome (AFP)

AS Roma, reduced to ten for more than a half after the exclusion of Pedro, had to settle for a point at home against Sassuolo (0-0) despite a second period largely dominated by the Giallorossi , Sunday during the 10th day of Serie A.

This 0-0 with many opportunities and two goals refused by the VAR (one on each side) is the business of Inter Milan, now only second in the standings after its victory Saturday against Bologna (3-1).

Sassuolo (19 pts) is 4th and Roma (18 pts) 5th while awaiting the result of Naples (6th, 17 pts) with the red lantern Crotone in the evening.

It was paradoxically when she found herself at ten, after Pedro's second yellow card for having irregularly stopped a neroverde counterattack, that the Giallorossi took the ascendancy in a game so far very balanced, on the lawn soggy Olimpico.

Roma even thought they had opened the scoring in stride but the goal of Henrikh Mkhitaryan (45th) was refused after an intervention by the VAR for a previous foul by Edin Dzeko.

Raised after these two strokes of fate, coach Paulo Fonseca was invited by the referee to follow the second half of the stands but that did not prevent Roma from dominating when they returned from the locker room.

But without success for Dzeko (49th, 73rd 78th), lacking in confidence for a few weeks, Leonardo Spinazzola (center deflected on the post, 60th) nor Mhkitaryan after a solo raid (76th).

Sassuolo, for his part, has never managed to take the game on his own, whether eleven against eleven with Maxime Lopez in N.10 or then in numerical superiority, with the game entrusted to Filip Djuricic after the release of the ex-Marseillais at the break.

The Neroverdi certainly believed in the hold-up with a quarter of an hour from the end, but the nice goal of Lukas Haraslin was also refused after intervention of the VAR (offside).

Sassuolo, after his setback against Inter (0-3), clearly marks time after his exciting start to the season.

What did not escape his coach Roberto de Zerbi: "I didn't like the second half, not so much for the result as for the lack of desire to win the match."

Roma, on the other hand, will have reacted well after the slap in Naples (0-4), making the "pride" of his coach Fonseca, who regretted after the match that the VAR did not intervene to turn a yellow card into red after a big foul on Lorenzo Pellegrini, left with an injury towards the end.

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