Roma delivered a commanding victory over Lecce, but the night carried mixed emotions as striker Artem Dovbyk marked the occasion with his 15th goal in Serie A, only for his contribution to be cut short by yet another injury scare.

The visitors struck early. In the 14th minute, a sharp, line-breaking pass from Bryan Cristante split the defence, allowing Paulo Dybala to pick out Evan Ferguson. The forward controlled the ball just outside the box and unleashed a quick finish that caught Wladimiro Falcone off guard.

From that moment on, Roma dictated the tempo. While Lecce enjoyed spells of possession, they struggled to turn control into clear chances, often failing to register a meaningful shot. In contrast, Roma repeatedly found space through direct vertical play, with Dybala drifting intelligently between the lines and pulling the strings.

The game opened up further in the second half when Gian Piero Gasperini introduced Kostas Tsimikas and Artem Dovbyk. The Ukrainian forward wasted little time making his impact. In the 71st minute, a driven cross-shot from Niccolò Pisilli flashed across goal, and Dovbyk reacted quickest, deftly turning the ball into the net.

It was a long-awaited moment — Dovbyk’s first league goal since late October — but the celebration proved short-lived. On 86 minutes, the striker again felt pain in his thigh and was forced to leave the pitch, casting a shadow over an otherwise emphatic Roma performance.

2025-26, Italy - Serie A

Lecce - AS Roma 0:2 (0:1)
Goals: Ferguson E., 14 (0:1); Dovbyk, 71 (0:2)

Lecce: Falcone; Gaspar; Veiga; Tiago Gabriel; Banda L. (N'Dri, 46); Ramadani (Gorter, 64); Gallo A.; Kaba M. (Helgason, 75); Maleh; Camarda (Štulić, 64); Sottil (Pierotti, 56)
Substitution: N'Dri (from 46); Pierotti (from 56); Gorter (from 64); Štulić (from 64); Helgason (from 75)
Bench: Samooja; Ndaba; Siebert; Perez Mat.; Jean; Kouassi C-O; Sala Alex; Kovac N.; Marchwinski
Yellow Cards: Banda L. 5; Maleh 28; Gaspar 86

AS Roma: Svilar; Çelik; Ziolkowski; Wesley; Ghilardi; Cristante; Koné M.; Pisilli; El Shaarawy (Tsimikas, 60); Ferguson E. (Dovbyk, 60; Romano, 86); Dybala (Soule M., 79)
Substitution: Tsimikas (from 60); Dovbyk (from 60 till 86); Soule M. (from 79); Romano (from 86)
Bench: Vasquez D.; Zelezny; Angelino
Yellow Cards: Cristante 86