Life after Mourhino starts with win for Roma, De Rossi

ROME — Daniele De Rossi got off to a winning start as Jose Mourinho's successor at Roma on Saturday after his boyhood club beat struggling Verona 2-1 at an emotional Stadio Olimpico.

First-half goals from Romelu Lukaku and Lorenzo Pellegrini were just enough for Roma, which is eighth in Serie A, to get past Verona and give De Rossi a tight debut win after taking over on Tuesday.

Former Italy midfielder De Rossi, who played for nearly two decades at Roma and is a huge favorite among supporters, was brought in after Mourinho's sudden sacking.

"Coming back has been a real pleasure. When I came to games as a fan, or when I walked around Rome, I always felt love from the fans," said De Rossi.

"On one hand there are a lot of emotions in play, but also a lot of tension because I've got a job to do."

Roma took advantage of fourth-placed Fiorentina not playing a league fixture this weekend, due to their Italian Super Cup commitments in Saudi Arabia, by moving to within two points of the Champions League positions.

Verona, which has serious financial problems and has unloaded seven players this month, sits just inside the relegation zone after its 12th defeat in 21 matches.

However, Roma didn't have it all its own way as Michael Folorunsho pulled one back with a well-struck shot in the 76th minute, which Roma goalkeeper Rui Patricio should have kept out.

Earlier Rome-born Folorunsho, who said before the match that he is a Lazio fan, had a goal disallowed for a soft-looking foul, while Verona striker Milan Djuric smashed a penalty over the bar just after the hour mark.

Mourinho tributes

A large portion of Roma's support is still livid at Mourinho's dismissal, despite the poor results which left the club languishing in ninth position before Saturday's match, with posters demanding American billionaire owner Dan Friedkin sell the club appearing around the city.

And the rancor was not dispelled by De Rossi's return, with players carrying out their pre-match warm-up to a cacophony of boos and whistles.

A series of banners displayed in the stands hailed Mourinho, who is still idolized by success-starved fans in the Italian capital for winning the Europa Conference League in 2022 and reaching the Europa League final last season.

One said Mourinho would have "eternal glory", while another simply read: "It was a pleasure having you on our side ... thank you Jose".

De Rossi's name rung around the ground just before kick-off and after the hard-fought win, which highlighted the difficulty of the task he has taken on.

But making such hard work of a team in serious trouble also led to a smattering of boos and whistles as the players approached the fans after the final whistle.

"If we had played better in the second half people would have probably been happier at the end of the game," added De Rossi.

"But we won, we got three points and we should celebrate victories."

AFP