Roma moved into the Champions League places in Serie A with a comfortable 3-0 win over Cagliari at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday.
Early goals from Federico Fazio and Javier Pastore and Aleksander Kolarov’s late strike were enough to secure a victory that lifts Claudio Ranieri’s side two points clear of Milan and Atalanta into fourth.
However, the Rossoneri and La Dea will restore a one-point lead over the capital club if they can beat Torino and Udinese respectively over the next two days.
The home side charged out of the blocks and were two goals to the good before eight minutes had passed.
Fazio profited from some sleepy Cagliari defending by rising to head a dropping ball that hadn’t been cleared from a corner, with Alessio Cragno desperately clawing the ball out only for goal line technology to confirm it had crossed the line.
Just two minutes later, Justin Kluivert burst down the right flank and cut inside to tee up Pastore on the edge of the box, who curled a cultured finish into the corner on his first Serie A start since September.
It appeared that a comfortable afternoon was in store for the hosts, but the memory of their meeting in August, when the Giallorossi surrendered a two-goal lead with six minutes remaining against a Sardinian side reduced to nine men, served as a cautionary tale.
Some of the home fans would be forgiven for having flashbacks of that evening when Leonardo Pavoletti forced a good save from Antonio Mirante on 12 minutes, the goalkeeper leaping to tip the Italy striker’s shot over the crossbar.
However, that proved to be as threatening as the visitors got and it was Roma who came closest to finding the third goal when a well-judged dummy from Stephan El Shaarawy left Pastore one-on-one with Cragno, but the Argentine’s finish came bouncing back off the crossbar.
On-loan Cagliari left-back Luca Pellegrini looked determined to make an impression against his parent club and his cross set up a rare chance for the visitors after the break, but Artur Ionita’s header bounced wide.
The woodwork then denied Roma for a second time when Edin Dzeko curled a shot towards goal which deflected off the shoulder of Isolani captain Luca Ceppitelli before coming back off the foot of the near post.
Ranieri’s side kept coming as Lorenzo Pellegrini adjusted his body to direct a Kolarov cross just wide, before a superb reaction save from Cragno stopped a deflected El Shaarawy header from creeping in and Dzeko blasted over a wonderful chance from 10 yards out.
Roma finally got their third of the night with five minutes remaining when Cragno smothered substitute Diego Perotti’s shot only for the rebound to fall into the path of Kolarov, who stroked a finish past the inspired goalkeeper.
Pastore in from the cold
It wasn’t the name people were expecting to see on Claudio Ranieri’s team sheet. In the absence of the suspended Nicolo Zaniolo and Bryan Cristante, Javier Pastore was handed his first Serie A start since September as Patrik Schick had to settle for a place on the bench.
The Argentine’s spell in the Italian capital has been almost unanimously branded a failure after repeated struggles for fitness and form since his big-money arrival from PSG last summer. That much was obvious when his name was read out by the stadium announcer before the game, to be met by jeers from the home crowd.
However, the 29-year-old suggested he may yet have a role to play before the end of the season with an excellent performance that included a goal, some deft touches and the width of the woodwork denying him a brace.
Pastore has a long way to go yet before he changes the Giallorossi faithful’s mind about what he can offer, the warm applause that he was substituted to after just over an hour suggested he is heading in the right direction.
Away day blues
As impressive as Cagliari’s recent form has been, with the Sardinian side winning four of their last six Serie A matches to move into 10th place, their away record remains a concern.
A 1-1 draw at Torino and 3-0 win over Chievo in their last two road trips was an impressive return, but the numbers lay out the bleak truth of their season so far; no team has scored fewer away goals in the league, with Cagliari notching just 11.
Rolando Maran’s side rarely threatened the Roma goal and showed no signs of repeating the extraordinary comeback they pulled off against the capital club back in August.
If they are to make the next step and solidify their position as a top-half contender, the Isolani must sharpen their edge in attack when they leave Sardinian shores.
