A single 80th-minute goal from Ukrainian forward Artem Dovbyk was sufficient for AS Roma as they recorded their seventh straight Serie A victory.
Roma beat Lecce 1-0 at Via del Mare Stadium. The tough win shows Roma is doing exceptionally well in 2025 and maintains their hopes of a Champions League spot alive. They move temporarily to sixth spot with 52 points, just four points adrift of fourth-positioned Bologna.
Roma began the match extremely well, controlling the initial 20 minutes and creating many good chances. Their first real chance came in the 7th minute when Dovbyk was sent through into the box but had his shot blocked by Lecce defender Gaspar at the vital moment. Two minutes later, Angelino had a great chance when Lecce goalkeeper Falcone crashed into Guilbert, leaving the goalmouth open, but the Spanish wing-back shot over the crossbar.
The hosts gradually played better throughout the game. Helgason tried to shoot at Roma goalkeeper Svilar with a powerful kick, but it barely went past the goal. Lecce goalkeeper Falcone caused some stir in the 21st minute when he passed nonchalantly to Ramadani, and Koné intercepted the pass. Koné shot from near range, but Falcone pulled off an unbelievable save and cleared the ball off the post.
The second half began with chances for neither side. Lecce's Gallo made Svilar save following nice play by Karlsson. At the other end, Roma's Lorenzo Pellegrini fired wide after a quick break.
Lecce were more determined in the second half.
Krstovic came close to having an excellent opportunity to score in the 60th minute when he saw Svilar out of place and tried to shoot from distance at 45 meters, which just missed the target.
It was a trade of attacks as both sides tried to get on the board first. Dovbyk tried again in the 68th minute but was thwarted by Falcone's quick reflexes. Roma thought they had scored next when Gianluca Mancini headed in a corner kick, but after checking VAR, the goal was ruled out for offside.
When the game was set to finish in a scoreless stalemate, Dovbyk showed his class in the 80th minute. The Ukrainian forward employed his strength to make Baschirotto lose his balance prior to hitting a fierce left-footed shot which flew past Falcone at his near post. This was Dovbyk's 11th Serie A strike of the campaign, and he is proving to be an important player for Roma in their quest for Europe.
The target resulted in a crazy finish as Lecce struggled to earn a draw. Roma also had an opportunity to increase their lead when Falcone denied Shomorudov at the end.
The win sees Roma 14 matches unbeaten in Serie A, with the last seven fixtures all wins. Roma are the best Italian side in 2025 under coach Claudio Ranieri, with 32 points earned in the current season.
For Lecce, this defeat represents their fifth consecutive loss, which has them precariously situated 16th on 25 points and still fighting against relegation. Lack of goals has been an issue for the southern Italian side, who have also not been winning games recently.
Roma's veteran manager Claudio Ranieri was pleased with the win but spoke about the difficulty of the game: "We played with great determination, but Lecce made it hard for us. We knew it was going to be a difficult game, but we were patient and scored the goal in the last minutes with Dovbyk."
Talking about the game's tactical issues, Ranieri said: "It was not easy to make chances because they were very compact in defense. We had to wait and be patient for the moment. The players did a fantastic job of staying calm and taking the turning point."
Roma coach also spoke about the significance of the victory in light of their seasonal ambitions: "Every point is valuable at this stage of the season. To win today allows us self-belief and the opportunity to dream about the future. We have to continue playing like that."
Lecce manager Marco Giampaolo couldn't hold back his complaints, especially regarding Roma's goal: "From my point of view, the match was balanced. I don't know about the goal since Baschirotto was going for the ball and was between two players. The referee made that call, but the match was balanced, even if they were very confident and in a good mood."
Despite the defeat, Giampaolo took some positives from the manner in which his team performed: "The team played a good game. We made a few errors, but that is football. We could have brought home a result;
it seems an unjustified defeat in the 95 minutes. Roma has quality and self-belief, but we could have taken points back."
When the coach was questioned regarding Lecce's recent goal-scoring troubles, he was optimistic: "I'm not worried. If we had scored more goals, we would have picked up more points. I know that the battle to avoid going to Serie B is tough, for us and for others. As long as the team has good spirit, I'm not worried;
the team is not short on energy." He continued: "We need midfield goal-scorers, we need defenders who can score goals, and we need to be more efficient with set pieces. All those things put together can make the difference. It's not just the goals that we haven't scored, it's also some of the goals that we've let in."
For Roma, the win represents another important landmark in their fantastic resurgence under Claudio Ranieri. Having briefly leapfrogged city rivals Lazio into sixth place, the Giallorossi are still looking up at the teams above them in the battle for Champions League qualification.
Lecce, meanwhile, are battling to stay in Serie A. They have lost five in a row and have question marks over their attack. Marco Giampaolo's team need to get going quickly with the campaign at the critical point.
As Serie A continues,
Roma is looking to become a serious contender for Europe. Meanwhile, Lecce needs to stop their declining trend and pick up points to stay in contention.