Jose Mourinho's Roma looked set for a shock defeat at the Stadio Olimpico when Pontus Almqvist netted Lecce's opener in the 71st minute. But Sardar Azmoun pulled the hosts level in the 91st minute with his first goal in Serie A and Lukaku brought the house down three minutes later with a rifled finish.

Lukaku's winner was redemption as he would have bore the brunt of the blame for a defeat after missing a sixth-minute penalty and another golden opportunity eight minutes after the break. The Belgium striker, who had a difficult return to Inter Milan last weekend, charged to the stands where he was hailed for a late winner which moved Roma above Lazio ahead of next weekend's Rome derby.

Roma are eighth on 17 points, four points away from the Champions League spots and one ahead of Lazio who lost at Bologna on Friday. Later, Fiorentina host Juventus in a match that home fans have demanded be postponed following the serious damage wrought across Tuscany by Storm Ciaran.

Floods and fallen trees have brought chaos and Italian authorities declared a state of emergency on Friday as weather specialists reported record rainfall. Inter's hardcore supporters announced on Saturday that they would not attend what is traditionally the biggest match of their season in protest at the decision to allow the match to take place.

Cagliari moved out of the relegation zone with their second straight win, 2-1 against fellow promoted outfit Genoa. Coach Claudio Ranieri was crucial to the Sardinians taking 17th place as it was his two half-time substitutes Nicolas Viola and Gabriele Zappa who scored the second-half goals which secured the three points. Cagliari sit a point ahead of Verona who are just inside the relegation zone after falling to a 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Monza.

November 5, 2023

P. Almqvist

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