Roma missed the chance to move to the top of Serie A as they were held to a 0-0 draw at third-placed Sampdoria, who successfully extended their unbeaten start to the season.
Sergio Romero was Samp’s hero with an outstanding save late on to prevent the Giallorossi from snatching all three points in Genoa.
The draw took Roma level on points with Juventus, who host Palermo today, while Samp have now won four and drawn four of their eight games this term.
With Tuesday’s 7-1 hammering at the hands of Bayern Munich still fresh in the mind, Roma could be excused for being a little cautious.
Having survived longer than they did in the Champions League – and at about the same time they were already four goals down at the Stadio Olimpico – they started to seize the initiative with Gervinho at the heart of all their attacks.
He had the first big chance of the game when put through by a long ball from deep. Vasco Regini did well to block his first effort, but the Ivory Coast international persisted and turned a shot against the outside of the post from a tight angle.
Gervinho then flashed a shot wide of the far post as Roma started to show more of their best Serie A form.
Samp had the ball in the back of the net early in the second half, but Manolo Gabbiadini did not even start to celebrate as he saw the linesman’s flag was raised.
Daniele Gastaldello showed why he is a defender and not a forward in the 76th minute as he wasted an even easier chance, taking an air shot with just Morgan De Sanctis to beat.
Francesco Totti was withdrawn from his third game in a week and the introduction of Mattia Destro appeared to give Roma fresh impetus.
He had a shot blocked moments before Vasilis Torosidis delivered a cross which Alessandro Florenzi met with his head from just five yards out, and with Romero already travelling in the opposite direction.
It looked like a certain goal, but the Argentinian goalkeeper somehow managed to reverse his movement and stick out his hand to turn the ball behind. It was a save which was worth more than just the point and unbeaten record it preserved for the Blucerchiati.
Parma’s season went from bad to worse as they were beaten 3-1 at home by Sassuolo, who celebrated their first victory of the campaign.
Parma continue to prop up the rest of the division after suffering a seventh defeat in eight Serie A games this season, leaving them stuck on three points.
Sergio Floccari, Francesco Acerbi and Saphir Taider did the damage as Sassuolo took maximum points for the first time this term to move out of the bottom three.
Antonio Cassano pulled a goal back late on for Parma, but it was nothing more than a consolation on another forgettable evening for Roberto Donadoni’s side.
Domenico Berardi perhaps should have made it 4-0 with a header in the 70th minute before Cassano reduced the arrears from Abdelkader Ghezzal’s cross.
It was not even enough to give Parma any hope of a recovery, though, as Sassuolo defended their lead well and rarely looked like conceding again.
Earlier, Cagliari leapfrogged Empoli in the standings thanks to an emphatic 4-0 win in Tuscany.
Four goals in 15 minutes leading up to half-time did the damage for the visitors, with the hosts doing their best to recover in the second period but unable to prevent a third loss of the season.
Marco Sau put Zdenek Zeman’s men in front before two goals from Danilo Avelar, the second from the penalty spot, and an Albin Ekdal strike sealed the points for the Sardinians.
Serie A
Empoli 0
Cagliari 4
Sau 31; Avelar 37, 38p; Ekdal 45;
HT: 0-4. Att: 8,120.
Parma 1
Cassano 79;
Sassuolo 3
Floccari 20; Acerbi 24; Taider 52;
HT: 0-2. Att: 11,444.
Sampdoria 0
Roma 0
Att: 23,000.
Playing today
Cesena vs Inter - 18.00
Chievo vs Genoa - 15.00
Juventus vs Palermo - 15.00
Lazio vs Torino - 18.00
Milan vs Fiorentina - 20.45
Napoli vs Verona - 18.00
Udinese vs Atalanta - 15.00
Standings
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Juventus | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 19 |
| Roma | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 4 | 19 |
| Sampdoria | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 16 |
| Milan | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 10 | 14 |
| Udinese | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 13 |
| Lazio | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 7 | 12 |
| Napoli | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 9 | 11 |
| Verona | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 11 |
| Inter | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 10 | 9 |
| Genoa | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 9 |
| Fiorentina | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 9 |
| Torino | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 8 |
| Cagliari | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 11 | 8 |
| Atalanta | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 7 |
| Empoli | 8 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 13 | 7 |
| Sassuolo | 8 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 7 |
| Cesena | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 6 |
| Palermo | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 15 | 6 |
| Chievo | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 4 |
| Parma | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 20 | 3 |
Next Serie A fixtures
Tuesday: 20.45 Sassuolo vs Empoli.
Wednesday: 20.45 Atalanta vs Napoli; Cagliari vs Milan; Fiorentina vs Udinese; Genoa vs Juve; Inter vs Sampdoria; Palermo vs Chievo; Roma vs Cesena; Torino vs Parma.
Thursday: 20.45 Verona vs Lazio.
Serie B
Avellino vs Lanciano - 1-1
Catania vs Vicenza - 3-1
Crotone vs Cittadella - 2-2
Entella vs Frosinone - 1-0
Latina vs Brescia - 1-1
Livorno vs Spezia - 0-1
Pescara vs Carpi - 0-5
Pro Vercelli vs Perugia - 0-0
Varese vs Bari - 2-1
Tomorrow
Bologna vs Trapani - 20.30
Standings: Carpi, Frosinone, Bologna, Trapani 18; Livorno 17; Spezia, Perugia, Avellino 16; Virtus Lanciano, Bari 15; Pro Vercelli 14; Modena 12; Brescia, Entella, Varese (-1) 11; Ternana, Vicenza 10; Pescara, Cittadella, Catania 9; Latina 8; Crotone 7.
Lega Pro
Group A: Pordenone vs Pavia 0-1; Mantova vs Monza 0-0; Giana vs Real Vicenza 1-1; Arezzo vs Feralpisalo 0-0; AlbinoLeffe vs Alessandria 2-0.
Group B: L’Aquila vs Pisa 1-4; Piacenza vs Savona 0-1; Grosseto vs Spal 2-3; Reggiana vs Tuttocuoio 2-0.
Group C: Cosenza vs Juve Stabia 0-1; Ischia vs Paganese 0-2; Melfi vs Messina 0-0; Savoia vs Martina 1-2; Barletta vs Matera 0-1.