Roma won 7-0 in Serie A
This is also Roma's biggest victory under Jose Mourinho, helping him relieve some of the pressure after the team lost 1-2 to Milan, 1-2 to Verona and drew 2-2 with Salernitana in the first three rounds of the season. The result against Empoli yesterday, September 17, was also the first time Roma scored 7 goals in a Serie A match since the 7-0 win over Catania on November 19, 2006.
At Olimpico Stadium, Roma soon dominated and opened the score in the 2nd minute. From Rasmus Kristensen's cross on the right wing, Sebastian Walukiewicz let the ball touch his hand in the penalty area, giving Roma a penalty. On the 11m mark, Dybala shot high into the left corner, scoring his first goal in Serie A this season. The Argentine striker is also one of four players to shoot in the last ten Serie A seasons, alongside Giacomo Bonaventura, Duvan Zapata and Domenico Berardi.
In the 8th minute, it was Renato Sanches' turn to score his first goal in a Roma shirt, with a close-range header from Kristensen's cross. This summer, the Portuguese midfielder joined Roma on loan from PSG, with a mandatory purchase clause if certain conditions are met.
In the 35th minute, Bryan Cristante pushed the ball long into the penalty area, but Bartosz Bereszynski hit Alberto Grassi's foot and sent it into his own net.
Roma continued to dominate and was even more explosive in the second half. In the 55th minute, Dybala pretended to eliminate Sebastiano Luperto and then placed his left foot diagonally to complete the double. The Argentinian striker missed the opportunity to score a hat-trick when his free kick hit the bar a few minutes later.
In the 80th minute, Andrea Belotti released just enough for Bryan Cristante to run up and shoot the ball into the top corner of the away team's goal. Two minutes later, Lukaku scored his first goal in his new shirt with a right foot shot from close range. The party at Olimpico ended with Gianluca Mancini's close-range header setting the score 7-0 in the 86th minute.
But even though Roma won their first match in Serie A this season, Mourinho was still not satisfied. "This was a good performance, but not a 7-0 performance," the Portuguese coach said. "We played to win and won comfortably. I feel sorry for Empoli, because this is football and sometimes the score is 7-0. I still see some things I don't like and will analyze it further with the coaching staff. Some players are also not qualified to play at high intensity for 90 minutes."
According to Mourinho, Lukaku did not return to Inter because he needed to be happy, feel love and received that much at Roma. "The special one" believes that Roma needs Lukaku more, and Inter will not be angry with the Belgian striker's decision because they still have a strong squad and just crushed Milan 5-1.
On September 21, Roma visited Sheriff Tiraspol in the opening round of Europa League Group G, then marched to Torino's stadium for the fifth round of Serie A on September 24.
