Ruthless Roma far from empathic towards Empoli

Roma coasted to a 7-0 victory at home against Empoli, with Paulo Dybala the star of the show in the Italian capital.

After seeing his side win just one of their previous 11 league matches and yet to win a league match this campaign, José Mourinho will have been delighted to see Empoli as the Giallorossi’s next guests. After all, Gli Azzurri have not even scored a goal this Serie A term, never mind picked up a point, while they also lost to second-tier Cittadella in the first round of the Coppa Italia. At the Stadio Olimpico, the visitors were their own worst enemy, as Sebastian Walukiewicz needlessly gave away a penalty by handling in the area within the first 40 seconds. From 12 yards, Dybala made no mistake to give his team the best possible start.

It wasn’t long before Mourinho’s men were two in front, either, as Renato Sanches headed Rasmus Kristensen’s perfectly-weighted cross into the corner with less than 10 minutes on the clock. Already in a commanding position, Roma continued to dominate and could have gone three up when Leandro Paredes' corner hit the post. Ultimately, the hosts did have a third before the interval, although it arrived in comical fashion as Bartosz Bereszyński’s clearance hit Alberto Grassi before bobbling into the corner.

If that wasn’t already over as a contest after that latest Empoli setback, it certainly was 10 minutes into the second period when Dybala bagged his second of the game. The Argentinian is a player who oozes class, which he fully displayed as he sent Sebastiano Luperto packing with a beautiful dummy before stroking the ball into the corner. The 29-year-old almost completed his hat-trick soon after, too, as only a fingertip Etrit Berisha save onto the crossbar stopped his free-kick from rippling the net.

Despite the heavy deficit, the visitors at least continued to look for a consolation, with Francesco Caputo testing Rui Patrício before Tommaso Baldanzi struck the post from distance. By this point, Roma were conserving energy, and even added extra gloss to the scoreline when Bryan Cristante found the top corner from 25 yards and Romelu Lukaku slotted through Berisha’s legs.

The scoring was finally complete when Gianluca Mancini headed home from close range. While Mourinho will be hoping this result kickstarts his side’s season, his Empoli counterpart Paolo Zanetti will be increasingly worried - even at this early stage of this season, his outfit looks a safe bet for relegation.

SERIE A - MATCHDAY 4

Saturday

Juventus - Lazio 3-1 (2-0)

/Vlahovic 10,67, Chiesa 26 - Luis Alberto 64/

Inter - Milan 5-1 (2-0)

/Mkhitaryan 5,69, Thuram 38, Calhanoglu 79, Frattesi 90+3 - Leao 57/

Genoa - Napoli 2-2 (1-0)

/Bani 40, Retegui 56 - Raspadori 76, Politano 84/

Sunday

Cagliari - Udinese 0-0

Frosinone - Sassuolo 4-2 (1-2)

/Cheddira 45+4 pen, Mazzitelli 70, 76, Lirola 90+6 - Pinamonti 7, 24/

Monza - Lecce 1-1 (1-1)

/Colpani 24 - Krstovic 3 pen/

Fiorentina - Atalanta 3-2 (2-1)

/Bonaventura 35, Quarta 45, Kouame 76 - Koopmeiners 20, Lookman 53/

Roma - Empoli 7-0 (3-0)

/Dybala 2 pen, 55, Sanches 8, Grassi 35 og, Cristante 80, Lukaku 82, Mancini 86/

Monday

19.30: (3.40) Salernitana (3.35) Torino (2.30)

21.45: (2.90) Verona (3.25) Bologna (2.70)

***odds are subject to change