Without coach José Mourinho on the bench, Roma lost 4-3 at home to Sassuolo on Sunday in a miserable weekend for teams chasing the Champions League qualifying spots from Serie A.
Armand Laurienté scored twice for Sassuolo before Nicola Zalewski pulled one back. But Roma defender Marash Kumbulla was sent off for violent conduct at the end of the first half and Domenico Berardi converted the resulting penalty.
Paulo Dybala got 10-man Roma back into the match at the start of the second half but Andrea Pinamonti all but sealed the result with 15 minutes remaining before Georginio Wijnaldum’s late goal.
Roma remained level on points with AC Milan, which hosts relegation-threatened Salernitana on Monday and will be looking to make the most of its rivals’ slipups.
Third-place Lazio was two points ahead of Roma and Milan after drawing at Bologna on Saturday, with Inter a point further ahead following its shock loss at Spezia on Friday.
Roma’s next Serie A match is against Lazio and Mourinho will again not be on the bench as he serves a two-match ban.
The home side was looking to move level with Inter in second and almost took the lead with less than two minutes on the clock as Wijnaldum was sent clear but he fired straight at Sassuolo goalkeeper Andrea Consigli.
