Roma near Champions League return with derby triumph, Napoli secure top four

AFP | Rome

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Roma took a huge step towards returning to the Champions League by beating local rivals Lazio 2-0 yesterday in a feisty derby which finished with both teams down to 10 men, while Napoli won 3-0 at Pisa to secure a top-four spot.

Gianluca Mancini smashed home two headers from corners, one in each half, at the Stadio Olimpico to move Roma up to fourth thanks also to Juventus’ shock 2-0 home defeat to Fiorentina.

Roma haven’t played in the Champions League since being knocked out in the last 16 by Porto in 2019, an absence which has left the capital club lagging behind their rivals.

But a win next weekend at relegated Verona will guarantee Roma a spot in Europe’s elite club competition thanks to a two-point gap separating them from both fifth-placed Como,  1-0 winners against Parma, and Juve who are now sixth.

“We should be happy because now it depends on us, we no longer have to rely on other teams’ results,” Roma coach Gian Piero Gasperini told reporters.

“Today can be happy for winning the derby and then we’ll get to preparing for the next match, which is huge.”

The derby and all four other fixtures were pushed forward by half an hour to avoid a clash with the men’s final at the Italian Open tennis tournament, which will take place a stone’s throw from the Olimpico later this afternoon.

A massive security presence was on show all around the stadium but the atmosphere in the ground was one-sided with the Lazio fans continuing their months-long boycott of matches in protest against owner Claudio Lotito.

Roma’s loud home support belted out song after song after a potentially massive win which yesterday meant much more than just local pride.

The volatile nature of the derby was highlighted by Nicolo Rovella and Wesley both being sent off in a scrap shortly after Mancini bulleted home the decisive second goal from Paulo Dybala’s corner in the 66th minute.