Jose Mourinho ran to join his players and fans after a dramatic Stephan El Shaarawy winner in stoppages, but Sassuolo had more than enough chances to put this end-to-end game beyond Roma.
It was an immensely-entertaining match at the Stadio Olimpico and an ideal way for Mourinho to mark his 1,000th official fixture as a coach.
Bryan Cristante made the most of Lorenzo Pellegrini’s cheeky free kick routine and Sassuolo equalised through Filip Djuricic.
There were so many scoring opportunities, including a Domenico Berardi goal ruled offside and saves on Jeremie Boga, while Hamed Junior Traore thumped the upright.
El Shaarawy came off the bench and curled an unstoppable first-time effort in off the inside of the far post in injury time to spark wild celebrations, including Mourinho’s run to the Curva Sud.
The drama still wasn’t over, as Gianluca Scamacca’s scorcher was disallowed at the 94th minute.