Lorenzo Pellegrini and Romelu Lukaku scored to give Roma a 2-0 home win over Napoli in Serie A on Saturday as Matteo Politano and Victor Osimen were sent off for the visitors.
Roma moved up to sixth with 28 points, one ahead of Napoli who dropped to seventh. Walter Mazzarri has now lost five games out of eight in all competitions since taking over from Rudi Garcia in November.
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The opening goal of a nervy game came in the 76th minute when Pellegrini, just five minutes on the pitch, curled a half-volley into the top corner after the ball fell to him after Stephan El Saraoui’s shot went wide. .
Champions Napoli were already down to 10 men after Politano was sent off in the 66th minute for kicking out Nicola Zalewski after the Roma player pulled him by the back of his shirt.
Osihen picked up a second yellow card in the 86th minute and Napoli had goalkeeper Alex Merrett to thank for keeping the score at 1-0 before Lukaku sealed victory in the 96th minute as Napoli chased an equaliser.
From a counter-attack, Lukaku took possession inside the Napoli half and passed the ball to Dika, who backed up for the Belgian striker to fire his shot into the net.
In the first half, the referee was yellow carded on six occasions, including booking both managers, as Napoli dominated possession and it was Roma who looked the more dangerous side.
“Maybe you don’t agree, but I feel that after 5-10 minutes we would have won the game,” said Roma coach Jose Mourinho. DAZN.
“Roma came in very, very well, we were always in control against a much stronger team from a technical point of view.”
The first chance fell to Roma when Lukaku cut back to Edoardo Bove and his shot from the edge of the area clipped the post.
The game was still a cagey affair until Politano’s moment of madness. Mourinho made a triple change and it was Pellegrini who made the biggest impact with his first touch of the ball.
“Then with 10 men we had an advantage, we used it well with the changes and with our interpretation. I think it’s a well-deserved win,” Mourinho said.
Napoli pressed for an equaliser, but created no real chances, and Meret was quick off his line to clear Lukaku’s effort before Osimhen’s red card ended Napoli’s hopes.
Bologna moved up to fourth as Lewis Ferguson’s late goal gave them a 1-0 win over Atalanta.