ROME, Oct 27 : Lazio maintained their unbeaten start to the season and moved provisionally top of the Serie A standings with a 6-2 win at Sassuolo on Tuesday, while AS Roma kept pace with a 4-2 victory over Cagliari and Como won 3-1 at Torino.
Gennaro Gattuso's Lazio side have eight wins from nine games and are on 25 points, three ahead of Inter Milan, who visit bottom club Venezia on Wednesday. Roma are one point further back in third, one point ahead of Como.
Lazio, backed by a sizeable away support, roared into a second-minute lead through Kenneth Taylor but the game had barely restarted following a lengthy VAR check when Sassuolo equalised through a Josip Sutalo own-goal.
Lazio looked in control with quick goals from Gustav Isaksen and Romano Floriani Mussolini before Sassuolo's hopes of a comeback took a hammering just after the half-hour mark when Kristian Thorstvedt was shown a red card for a foul on Mattia Zaccagni.
Sassuolo did, however, pull a goal back two minutes from halftime through Sebastiano Esposito only to see Lazio restore their two-goal advantage in added time before the break when Zaccagni was allowed a free header from Isaksen's cross.
Zaccagni spurned a chance to score again shortly after the interval when Simone Cinquegrano's handball gave Lazio a penalty, but the captain's tame spot kick was saved by Stefano Turati.
Lazio found a fifth goal with Tijjani Noslin's curled shot from outside the box before a foul by Duje Caleta-Car on Isaksen gave the visitors another penalty, and this time Turati saved from Davide Frattesi.
Noslin again made up for Lazio's wastefulness from the spot with another strike from distance to complete the scoring as Gattuso's side continue to look like real title contenders.
"We don't have to look at the standings because both I and many of them are not used to it and therefore we have to do things seriously and at a thousand miles per hour," Gattuso said.
ROMA AND COMO EARN LATE WINS
The Stadio Olimpico was temporarily silenced when Cagliari took the lead in the 10th minute from the penalty spot, with M'Bala Nzola converting after a handball by Niccolo Pisilli.
Roma drew level five minutes later with Emanuele Lulli's header from a pinpoint cross by Nahuel Molina and the hosts went ahead in the 21st minute when Lulli turned provider, his cross volleyed to the net by Pisilli.
Keeper Pierluigi Gollini was called into action on several occasions in the second half and kept Roma in front until Daniel Maldini netted Cagliari's equaliser nine minutes from time.
Roma looked set to slip further behind the leaders until Rodrigo Mora and Donyell Malen both scored in the final five minutes.
Che Adams put Torino ahead in the 24th minute, and the hosts were on course to win their fourth successive game until three goals in the last 10 minutes from Jacobo Ramon, Nico Paz and Martin Baturina earned Como an unlikely victory.