AS Roma on Sunday triumphed 2-0 against local rivals SS Lazio to give Claudio Ranieri his biggest win since the veteran coach took charge of his boyhood club for the third time.
Lorenzo Pellegrini and Alexis Saelemaekers netted in eight first-half minutes to give Roma the points in a fraught atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
Ranieri’s team are up to 10th on 23 points, still 12 points behind Lazio, who sit in the final UEFA Champions League spot, but now have some breathing space between them and the relegation zone.
Photo: Reuters
Six points separate Roma from US Lecce, who sit just inside the bottom three and drew 0-0 with Genoa earlier on Sunday, as Ranieri slowly gets the capital club going back in the right direction.
“It’s so great to be able to make these fans happy,” said AS Roma defender Gianluca Mancini, who did his post-match interview in a long coat after giving his shorts and shirt to jubilant supporters. “Derbies are always a match apart, but we’re still only talking about three points, it’s not like we’ve won the league or anything.”
Roma were in such disarray when Ranieri became their third coach of the season in November last year that relegation was not beyond the realms of possibility, but after an encouraging draw at AC Milan the previous weekend, Sunday’s display was another sign that a talented squad is starting to express itself, as well as being the 73-year-old’s fifth win against Lazio in as many matches.
Roma did not have it all their own way, though, and were camped in their own half after halftime as Lazio pushed hard to get back into the match.
Valentin Castellanos and the impressive Nuno Tavares both went close to pulling a goal back, while Loum Tchaouna’s scuffed finish looped onto the crossbar just before the hour mark.
Castellanos was then sent off deep in stoppage-time as Lazio ended a painful defeat with a scuffle instigated by Roma defender Mats Hummels exaggerating contact with the Argentine striker.
Pellegrini’s opener came nine minutes into his surprise start in Roma’s attack alongside Paulo Dybala and Artem Dovbyk as the 28-year-old had been out of favor and often booed by fans despite being a local boy and club captain.
Roma fan Pellegrini had been accused by angry supporters of being among a clutch of players who pushed for Daniele de Rossi to be sacked in September last year, but he kissed the badge of his boyhood club after brilliantly whipping home his first league goal of the season following a lightning breakaway.
“On the bus to the ground he said he would score and he did. I’m really happy for him because he’s had a tough time, but he’s a big player for this team and we’re all behind him,” Saelemaekers said.
Eight minutes later Roma took a surprise early two-goal lead through Saelemaekers, who after being put through by Paulo Dybala forced a fine save from goalkeeper Ivan Provedel and then tapped home the rebound.
Pellegrini was given a standing ovation when he was replaced by Stephan El Shaarawy midway through the second half, a sign that he has won supporters back on side and that some normality is returning to Roma after largely awful opening half to the season.
Elsewhere, Cagliari won 2-1 at AC Monza, while Torino and Parma played out a 0-0 draw.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Twelve days after winning her second Grand Slam title at the French Open, Coco Gauff fell at the first hurdle on grass in Berlin on Thursday as beaten Paris finalist Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarter-finals. Recipient of a first round bye, American Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu as world number one Sabalenka beat Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) in her second round tie. Winner of 10 main tour titles, including the US Open in 2023 and the WTA Finals last year, Gauff has yet to lift a trophy in a grass-court tournament. “After I won the first
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka staged a “crazy comeback,” saving four match points before beating Elena Rybakina 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (6) in the quarter-finals of the Berlin Open on Friday. Sabalenka was 6-2 down in the final-set tie-breaker, but won six straight points to reach her eighth semi-final of the season. “Elena is a great player and we’ve had a lot of tough battles,” Sabalenka said. “I have no idea how I was able to win those last points. I think I just got lucky.” “I remember a long time ago when I was just starting, I won a lot of matches being down
While British star Jack Draper spent the past week trying to find rhythm and comfort in his first grass tournament of the season at the Queen’s Club Championships in London, Jiri Lehecka on Saturday bulldozed everything in his path. After more than two furious hours of battle, their form was reflected in the final scoreline as Lehecka toppled a frustrated Draper, the second seed, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the biggest final of his career, against Carlos Alcaraz. Lehecka is also the first Czech to reach the men’s title match at Queen’s since Ivan Lendl lifted the trophy in 1990. Draper, who
The Canterbury Crusaders edged the Waikato Chiefs 16-12 in an intense Super Rugby Pacific final battle in Christchurch yesterday to claim their 15th title in 30 years of the Southern Hemisphere competition. Hooker Codie Taylor scored a try and Rivez Reihana contributed 11 points from the kicking tee as the most dominant team in Super Rugby history extended their perfect home playoff record to 32 successive matches since 1998. The Chiefs, who were looking for a first title since 2013, scored first-half tries through George Dyer and Shaun Stevenson, but were unable to register a point after the break and fell to