The first half was fairly even in terms of chances created, with Angelino perhaps having the best one inside just nine minutes. The left-back managed to get the ball past goalkeeper Wladimiro Falcone, but only found the side-netting with an empty goal to aim at.
Down the other end, Porir Johann Helgason picked up the ball on the edge of the box, and flashed a shot just wide of the post. Lecce grew in confidence as they played out from the back, but a horrible mistake allowed Manu Kone to intercept right in front of Falcone, but the goalkeeper was at hand to save the corresponding shot from point-blank range.
Mile Svilar was also tested before half-time first parrying away Antonino Gallo’s effort from a tight angle before holding Jesper Karlsson’s strike.
After a quiet opening to the second half, Nikola Krstovic tried to spark it into life with an audacious long-range effort that almost caught Svilar out as the ball bounced just wide of his post.
Falcone was then called into action first to stop Matías Soule’s strike from distance, before brilliantly sticking a leg out to deny Artem Dovbyk at his near post. From the resulting corner, Gianluca Mancini tapped in a flick-on at the back post, but the goal was disallowed for offside.
However, the visitors were not to be denied a second time as with just 10 minutes left on the clock, they finally found the breakthrough as the ever-reliable Dovbyk cut inside before unleashing into the bottom corner - his 11th league goal this season.
1-0 has become a familiar scoreline for Roma as it is now their fourth 1-0 victory in seven, and their 10th in Serie A occupied by a clean sheet. It lifts them, at least temporarily, into the European places, while Lecce still languish just outside the relegation zone.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Artem Dovbyk (AS Roma)
