A visit to rock-bottom Salernitana was the perfect opportunity for the Giallorossi to boost their top-four push, but they left a lot to be desired prior to the interval.
The away side failed to muster a single shot on target, with Lorenzo Pellegrini’s wayward free-kick that flew high and wide the closest they came to even troubling Guillermo Ochoa between the sticks.
While Rui Patricio was hardly overworked at the other end, he was certainly the busier of the two goalkeepers during the first period as the hosts put in a promising display. The Portuguese shot-stopper produced a strong stop down to his left to keep out Flavius Daniliuc’s low drive from outside the area, and he was equal to a tamer effort from Loum Tchaouna which still needed to be dealt with.
Tensions flared shortly before the half-time whistle, with Niccolo Pierozzi and Pellegrini earning yellow cards for late and reckless challenges on Bryan Cristante and Junior Sambia respectively, which was the most fight Roma had shown throughout the contest up until that point.
It was turning into a difficult evening for De Rossi and Co. but, shortly after the restart, they were gifted an opportunity to break the deadlock.
Although Gianluca Mancini appeared to be pulling Salernitana’s Giulio Maggiore back as Cristante’s header hit the midfielder’s arm in the area, referee Marco Di Bello still pointed to the spot. VAR agreed with the man in the middle, and from the resulting penalty, Paulo Dybala sent Ochoa the wrong way to give his side an arguably undeserved advantage.
Midway through the half, they doubled their lead with their second shot on target of the match as Pellegrini tapped Rick Karsdorp’s cross into an empty net. Despite an underwhelming performance, Roma somehow found themselves two to the good and in apparent control.
It would have been an injustice had the Granata not even netted a goal for their efforts, and they made sure their opponents didn’t leave with a clean sheet when Grigoris Kastanos’ unmarked header nestled in the bottom corner.
With 20 minutes remaining, there was plenty of time remaining for an equaliser but, while they put Roma under territorial pressure, they were unable to restore parity.
The result leaves De Rossi’s men just one point behind fourth-place Atalanta, albeit having played a game more. This was just their second win in 10 away league matches, showing that the new man in charge has made an impact.
Salernitana, meanwhile, are six points adrift of safety, and although they were spirited in defeat here, relegation looks more and more likely with each passing game.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma)
