Stephan El Shaarawy’s late winner against Sassuolo made Jose Mourinho feel “like a child” in his 1000th career match. Elsewhere, Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored upon return from his injury as AC Milan swept Lazio aside.
“During the week I was a liar, saying it wasn’t a special match. But it was a special match. It was a match with a special number for me and I always wanted to remember a match like this for my 1000th game. I lied to everyone!”
“Today I am not 58, but 14, when you start dreaming of a career in football. It was a child’s race, I apologized to [Alessio] Dionisi, they played a fantastic game.”
Mourinho said after the match.
Bryan Cristante gave AS Roma the lead in the 37th minute following a well-worked set-piece. Sassuolo, however, weren’t to be held back for long. The Neroverdi came back in full force and grabbed the equalizer three minutes before the hour-mark.
Roma custodian Rui Patricio made a string of impressive stops to prevent Sassuolo from taking the lead before El Shaarawy plunged a dagger into their hearts with a late, late goal.
In the earlier fixture, Roma’s city rivals Lazio went down to AC Milan 2-0. Maurizio Sarri’s men lost their perfect record as a consequence, while their opponents managed to keep their slate clean.
Milan took the lead in the 45th minute through Rafael Leao, who started and finished a free-flowing move through the Lazio lines. Drama ensued shortly after Leao’s goal, as Milan were awarded a penalty, which contract rebel Franck Kessie failed to convert.
Nonetheless, the returning Zlatan Ibrahimovic ensured that the Rossoneri didn’t pay the price for Kessie’s miss, as he tapped home his team’s second from close range in the 66th minute.
