Roma were brought back down to earth by Sampdoria after a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Olimpico, as Manolo Gabbiadini replied to Eldor Shomurodov and Tammy Abraham went off injured.
The Giallorossi were brimming with confidence after a 4-1 win over Atalanta, as only Lorenzo Pellegrini and Leonardo Spinazzola were still out of action. Samp missed goalkeeper Emil Audero with a muscular issue, so Wladimiro Falcone got a rare start between the posts, with Valerio Verre and Mikkel Damsgaard out.
Tammy Abraham flashed an angled drive just wide and a Rick Karsdorp half-volley was cleared with difficulty, while Manolo Gabbiadini tested Rui Patricio from distance.
Albin Ekdal went off injured before half-time, followed by Abraham with an ankle issue straight after the restart.
Antonio Candreva almost gave Sampdoria the lead on 53 minutes, getting there ahead of Chris Smalling only for the shot to thump the inside of the upright.
Second-choice goalkeeper Falcone needed a great double save on Zaniolo first, then the Felix Afena-Gyan follow-up.
Roma eventually broke through with a chaotic move, as Eldor Shomurodov had two shots charged down from close range and it was third time lucky to drill in at the near post.
Kristoffer Askildsen took on the entire Roma defence single-handed and almost scored, denied only by a desperate block. On the resulting flicked-on corner, Omar Colley hit the upright and Gabbiadini was quickest to react on the rebound.
Mkhitaryan’s curler was just off target as Roma poured forward, but were unable to break Doria down.
Roma 1-1 Sampdoria
Shomurodov 72 (R), Gabbiadini 80 (S)