Sinners & Saints: Roma 1, Lecce 0

ROME, ITALY - MARCH 19: Mario Hermoso of AS Roma celebrates his side's first goal scored by Evan Ndicka of AS Roma (not pictured) during the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 Round of 16 Second Leg match between AS Roma and Bologna FC 1909 at Stadio Olimpico on March 19, 2026 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images) | Getty Images Hey! How about that?!

For the first time in a month, Roma put the ball in the back of the net more than her opponent! By defeating the other Giallorossi yesterday 1-0 at a packed Stadio Olimpico, Roma exorcised their March demons, edging past 18th-placed Lecce thanks to an early second-half goal from Robinio Vaz. And sure, it wasn’t the resounding victory we hoped for, but after 120 grueling minutes against Bologna in the Europa League Round of 16 on Thursday, along with the usual string of injuries, it was probably the best Gasperini’s group could do given the circumstances.

With a noticeably quicker tempo and sense of urgency, Roma generated 14 shots on goal while maintaining 67% possession; things that are easier to accomplish when playing Lecce rather than Como, but sometimes you just have to enjoy the little victories. Yesterday’s win allowed Roma to pull even on points (54) with 5th-place Juventus, who each remain three points behind Cesc Fabregas and Como. With no fixtures remaining against either club, Roma will be doing plenty of table watching over the next two months.

But before we go down that well, let’s hand out some halos and sharpen our pitchforks. The Sinners Niccolo Pisilli While the young Roman was busy roaming the midfield last night, taking 69 touches and leaving an impressive heatmap in his wake, he was imprecise and impulsive while doing so: 1/8 on dribble attempts, 1/5 on long passes, and 1/13 on duels, all while losing possession 22 times, second only to Lorenzo Pellegrini. But hey, Roma won, so we won’t sweat it; young players are prone to bouts of inconsistency.