Claudio Ranieri extended his perfect record in the Italian capital derby by Rome beat Lazio 2-0 in Serie A to give the Giallorossi a much-needed boost in what has been a difficult season.
Roma captain and lifelong fan of the club, Lorenzo Pellegrini, scored a superb opener with a curling shot from the edge of the box to end his long wait for a goal. Then, Alexis Saelemaekers completed a counter-attack to give Roma a two-goal advantage after 18 minutes.
Pellegrini has faced harsh criticism from Roma fans this season, and his goal put pressure on Roma, who have now won three of their last five Serie A matches to move up to 10th place. Lazio remains fourth.
Ranieri improved his record to five wins in five derbies as Roma coach. He is the team’s third manager this season after the dismissal of Daniele De Rossi and Ivan Juric. His other derby victories came during his first stint as Roma coach from 2009 to 2011. He also briefly coached his hometown club in 2019.
Ranieri also won the other three major Italian derbies in Milan, Turin and Genoa as coach of Inter, Juventus and Sampdoria, respectively.
He helped Cagliari avoid relegation last season and had said it would be his last club job, but he couldn’t turn down Roma when he was called in to restore order in November. Ranieri’s contract provides for him to move into a management position after this season, from which he will have a say in choosing the next coach.
A car caught fire outside the Stadio Olimpico around an hour before kick-off after being hit by fireworks as rival fans tried to approach each other.
Also Sunday, Cagliari came back from a goal down to win 2-1 in last place Monza with goals from Nadir Zortea and Roberto Piccoli. Turin v Parma And Lecce v Genoa finished 0-0.
A deserved goal in stoppage time by striker Ousmane Dembélé Paris Saint-Germain a 1-0 victory Monaco in the French Super Cup on Sunday as the Ligue 1 champions lifted the trophy for the third consecutive season.
Thirteen-time winners PSG, who faced the Ligue 1 runners-up last season after Les Parisiens won the league and Coupe de France, won the competition for the 11th time in the last 12 years.
During a lively encounter at Doha’s 974 Stadium, made from 974 recycled shipping containers for the 2022 World Cup, PSG had 27 chances, nine of them on target, without breaking the deadlock. But Dembélé ensured the match did not go to penalties when he sealed the victory two minutes into added time, scoring at the far post after Fabián Ruiz fed him with a neat pass in front of the goal.
Gianluigi Donnarumma made some crucial saves on his return to the team after suffering a horrific facial injury during PSG’s 4-2 win over Monaco in Ligue 1 last month.
theguardian