Roma's Argentine forward #21 Paulo Dybala. (Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP)
Rome: Paulo Dybala scored his first Serie A goal of the season to give Roma a 1-0 victory at Sassuolo on Sunday to lift them level with leaders Napoli.
Roma moved to 18 points alongside the champions.
After 16 minutes Dybala set up Bryan Cristante for a shot. When Arijanet Muric saved, Dybala pounced to put the rebound into the empty net.
It was the Argentinian's 130th Serie A goal but his first from open play since last December.
"These are three important points," said Dybala.
"We knew we could move into first place before this match, but we're not getting carried away. The championship is still very long."
Under Gian Piero Gasperini, who took over in July, Roma have become stingy in defence but are struggling to score.
In eight games they have conceded three goals -- two fewer than any other team -- while scoring only eight.
Roma sit second because their goal difference is two worse than Napoli, who beat fourth-placed Inter Milan 3-1 on Saturday.
All four of their defeats this season have come at home, including a loss to Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League on Thursday and against Inter Milan in Serie A last Saturday.
"I'm very satisfied because the team reacted well after two defeats this week," sid Gasperini.
"The priority now is to win again at home. We have to reward our fans. At home, we have to be more effective."
