Both sides were coming off of convincing UEFA wins on Thursday, when the Giallorossi destroyed Brighton and Hove Albion 4-0 and the Viola defeated Maccabi Haifa 4-3. With Lucas Beltran out due to suspension and Christian Kouame hurt, Andrea Belotti took on his old team; nevertheless, Arthur Melo and Lucas Martinez-Quarta were back in the lineup. They went to a 3-5-2 configuration after Rasmus Kristensen sat out a ban and Tammy Abraham was the sole player still on the treatment table.
After four minutes, Romelu Lukaku forced Pietro Terracciano to make a low save on a feed from Paulo Dybala, but the home team seized the lead. Nico Gonzalez flicked on Maxime Lopez's corner, and Luca Ranieri beat Evan Ndicka to the far post with a nod. Belotti forced a close-range stop from Mile Svilar, and Rolando Mandragora curled wide of the top corner as the Viola persisted in their attack.