Roma gave themselves a chance of finishing the weekend top of Serie A with a 3-1 win at Cremonese, where the Irish striker Evan Ferguson came off the bench and ended his almost 13-month goal drought at club level.
Roma are on 27 points, two points ahead of Napoli who beat Atalanta 3-1 on Saturday, with Inter third on 24 points going into their home derby with Milan on Sunday night. Cremonese are 12th in the standings on 14 points.
In an action-packed first half, which included the ruling out of a Roma goal for offside and a Cremonese penalty overturned, the visitors took the lead through Matías Soulé in the 17th minute.
Ferguson was introduced on the hour mark, and four minutes later netted his first goal for Roma. Wesley França wrapped up the win after another five minutes, with Francesco Folino heading in a stoppage-time consolation for the hosts.
On the stroke of half-time the referee awarded Cremonese a penalty for a handball by Gianluca Mancini but a check by the video assistant referee led to the decision being overturned.
Ferguson had missed the previous three Roma games with an ankle injury that also kept him out of international duty with Ireland, but while Gian Piero Gasperini did not risk him from the start, he was given his chance from the bench. Cremonese failed to clear the ball from their area and when Neil El Aynaoui laid a pass off to Ferguson, the Irishman kept his cool and took a touch to control before bending his shot round Mile Svilar into the corner of the net.
Ferguson’s previous club goal came in October 2024 for Brighton against Wolves in the Premier League, and the entire Roma team raced to celebrate with the 21-year-old.
Where Roma finish the day depends on the evening match, with Inter able to return to top spot, where they started the weekend, by beating Milan.
Elsewhere, Real Madrid will be looking to restore their lead at the top of La Liga at Elche, in the wake of Barcelona’s 4-0 win against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday in their first game at the redeveloped Camp Nou. In earlier action, Atlético Madrid visit Getafe.
In the Bundesliga, the 19-year-old Assan Ouédraogo unleashed an unstoppable shot as RB Leipzig eased past Werder Bremen 2-0 to move back into second. The midfielder completed a memorable week after also scoring on his Germany debut in Monday’s 6-0 victory over Slovakia to secure their spot in the World Cup and make him the youngest Germany player to score in a first international match.
The hosts were in control in the first half but their efforts either missed the target or were blocked by Mio Backhaus. The Werder keeper was helpless, however, when Ouédraogo whipped a powerful left-footed shot into the top far corner in the 63rd minute for his third league goal of the season.
The substitute Xaver Schlager then turned in the box to drill in Leipzig’s second goal in the 80th, sealing their victory and earning their fourth win in five league games. Leipzig, who bounced back from their loss to Hoffenheim on the previous matchday, moved up to 25 points in second place, with Bayern Munich in top spot on 31 after their 6-2 demolition of Freiburg on Saturday. Bayer Leverkusen, on 23 points, drop to third.
