Goals by Romelu Lukaku and Lorenzo Pellegrini on Sunday helped AS Roma to a 2-0 win over promoted visitors Frosinone in Serie A, relieving the pressure on manager Jose Mourinho.
Lukaku deftly changed direction to evade his marker and fire home to give the hosts a 21st-minute lead.
Frosinone, who had lost one of their previous 17 away matches, pushed for an equalizer, but Roma captain Pellegrini extinguished their hopes with a perfectly timed volley from a free-kick seven minutes from the end.
Photo: AFP
Midfielder Paulo Dybala was instrumental in both goals, providing a pass to set up Lukaku and delivering a precise set-piece to Pellegrini for the second.
Roma jumped to 12th place with eight points from seven matches after their second league win of the season. Frosinone are 10th with nine points.
The result ended a disappointing run for Mourinho’s side, who had suffered a 4-1 defeat by Genoa on Thursday last week, leaving them hovering just above the relegation zone.
After Sunday’s match, Mourinho praised the visitors.
“It was a real team, and that’s something I always like, against a side that has nothing to do with Serie B,” he told DAZN.
“Frosinone have a lot of quality, I liked them when analyzing them in the buildup and I liked them today,” he said.
For Mourinho the win was a relief after he said on Thursday that he was enduring his worst start to a season as a manager.
“I am very, very happy that they won the game, because when you lose the way we did in midweek it is not easy. You must be emotionally balanced and have the right mentality to get on that pitch,” he said. “Having said that, we never felt that the fans were against the team. The support when we were on the bus and in the stadium was extraordinary. I knew that whether we won or not today, we would show that we are friends, we are a team, we are united.”
The match at the Stadio Olimpico was an intense affair on a humid Rome night, with signs of fatigue evident. The referee had to stop the game for a few minutes after experiencing cramp near the end, resulting in nine minutes of stoppage-time.
Elsewhere, Bologna beat Empoli 3-0, Udinese and Genoa drew 2-2 and Atlanta BC were held 0-0 by Juventus.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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