Roma pounced on two dreadful Lazio mistakes to claim a 2-0 win in a hot-tempered derby which was boycotted by their own supporters on Sunday.
Lazio defender Wallace gifted Roma the lead in the 64th minute when he tried to dribble his way out of defence but was easily dispossessed by Kevin Strootman who chipped his shot over helpless Lazio goalkeeper Federico Marchetti.
Roma doubled their lead 13 minutes later when Radja Nainggolan caught Marchetti napping with a low shot from 35 metres that bounced twice as it entered the net at the goalkeeper’s unguarded near post.
There was an unsightly scuffle involving players and officials from both teams after the first goal, sparked when Strootman squirted water at Lazio substitute Danilo Cataldi who grabbed the Dutchman’s shirt by the collar.
Strootman was booked and Cataldi given a red card.
There was also controversy in the first half when Roma’s Bruno Peres appeared to be tripped on the edge of the penalty area by Lucas Biglia.
The referee initially awarded a free kick to Roma, then pointed to the penalty spot on the indication of the goal line official, then changed his mind again, reverting to his initial decision.
Lazio, who were technically the home side in the Stadio Olimpico, have not won any of their previous seven meetings against Roma, a run going back to the 2013 Coppa Italia final.
Roma’s Curva Sud area was empty as their hardcore supporters continued a long-running stay-away campaign in protest at security measures which they say have destroyed their fan culture.
Roma stayed second in Serie A on 32 points, level with AC Milan and four behind leaders Juventus. Napoli, Lazio and Atalanta are a further four points behind.
Milan needed a late goal from Gianluca Lapadula to beat bottom side Crotone 2-1 after Mbaye Niang had earlier missed a penalty.
Diego Falcinelli gave Crotone a 26th-minute lead and Mario Pasalic headed the equaliser four minutes before the break, his first goal since joining Milan on loan from Chelsea in the close season.
Milan were awarded a penalty early in the second half and Niang won an argument with Lapadula over who should take it, only for Alex Cordaz to save his shot brilliantly.
Lapadula grabbed the winner in the 86th minute and was booked for his exuberant celebration.
Two first-half penalties, the first converted by Lorenzo Pellegrini and the second by Federico Ricci, helped Sassuolo to a 3-0 win over Empoli, which ended their nine-match winless run in all competitions. Antonino Ragusa scored the third early in the second half.
Sampdoria beat Torino 2-0 with second-half goals from Edgar Barreto and Patrick Schick while Gianluca Caprari scored in stoppage time to give lowly Pescara a 1-1 draw at home to Cagliari.
The Sardinians went ahead through Marco Borriello in the 24th minute and played the entire second half with 10 men after Davide Di Gennaro was sent off.
Bundesliga
Meanwhile, RB Leipzig moved back to the top of the Bundesliga on Saturday night thanks to a 2-1 win over Schalke. Timo Werner put Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men in front with an early penalty, but Sead Kolasinac levelled for Schalke, who were on a seven-game unbeaten streak heading into the fixture at the Leipzig Arena.
Kolasinac scored an own goal early in the second half to give Leipzig yet another win, which takes them three points clear at the summit in their first season in Germany’s top flight. Hertha Berlin moved into third place after coming from behind twice before beating Wolfsburg 3-2.
Salomon Kalou’s stoppage-time penalty earned Pal Dardai’s men all three points after Marvin Plattenhardt cancelled out Borja Mayoral’s opener and Alexander Esswein did the same following Paul Seguin’s goal. Seguin was later sent off as Wolfsburg’s woes this season continued.
Borussia Monchengladbach’s troubles were extended by Borussia Dortmund, who emerged 4-1 winners at the Westfalenstadion. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was on target twice with Lukasz Piszczek and Ousmane Dembele also scoring after Raffael had given the Foals an early lead.
Defeat increases the pressure on Gladbach coach Andre Schubert, whose side have now gone eight games without a win and lost five of their last six away from home. Still ahead of Dortmund in fourth place are Hoffenheim, who extended their unbeaten start to the season with an emphatic 4-0 win over Cologne, who dropped to seventh as a result. Sandro Wagner struck twice for Julian Nagelsmann’s men with Jeremy Toljan and Mark Uth also on target.
Werder Bremen picked up a rare win over struggling Ingolstadt, with Max Kruse and Fin Bartels rendering Markus Suttner’s strike of little consolation in a 2-1 win, while Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Freiburg. Hakan Calhanoglu equalised for Roger Schmidt’s men after Janik Haberer had given Freiburg the lead. Javier Hernandez missed a late penalty as Leverkusen were frustrated in front of their own fans and consequently lost ground on the top five.
