Ahead of the Rome derby, AS Roma were tireless as they ground out a 3-1 win away from home against Hellas Verona.
Roma went behind less than half an hour in the game following a Pawel Dawidowicz opener.
Verona suffered a setback; the Pole was sent off only nine minutes after scoring for a dangerous-looking challenge on Nicolo Zaniolo.
The Roma talent then put his side level just before halftime. The goal took some pressure off after a hard-fought first half.
After a difficult first 45 minutes, Tammy Abraham missed a key chance, adding more frustration to the out-of-form forward.
Nemanja Matic hit the crossbar with a powerful header in the edgy second half that sees referee Juan Luca Sacchi recording 18 fouls across the 90 minutes.
The game was heading to a draw, but late in the second half, Roma turned things around when Cristian Volpato managed to curl a low shot in the corner of Lorenzo Montipo’s net.
The 88th-minute strike sent the traveling Giallorossi fans wild.
Stephan El Shaarawy then made the result safe for Roma in extra time. The Italian striker slotted the ball home after a darting run in the box to make it 3-1.
With this win, Jose Mourinho will feel a little more confident ahead of their upcoming Derby della Capitale clash against Lazio.
Lazio, on their part, had suffered a 3-1 home defeat at the hand of Salernitana.
After starting the clash in the sixth position, the win takes Roma to the fourth position on the log. This is an opportunity to aim for Champions League places.
The Rome derby is expected to be a tough duel to see who will eventually claim the bragging right.
As the world knows, the character of both managers who could cause a stir in the match will have their hands full as they will want to get results.
Written by Oladipupo Mojeed