Roma breeze past Chievo, Immobile treble for Torino
First-half goals by Gervinho and Mattia Destro helped AS Roma strengthen their grip on second place in Serie A with a 2-0 win at Chievo Verona on Saturday.
|Last Updated: Mar 23, 2014, 11:14 AM IST|Source: Reuters
Rome: First-half goals by Gervinho and Mattia Destro helped AS Roma strengthen their grip on second place in Serie A with a 2-0 win at Chievo Verona on Saturday.
Ivorian attacker Gervinho slid home the opener in the 17th minute after a defensive mix-up.
Destro doubled the lead with his eighth league goal of the season three minutes before the break as Rudi Garcia`s side moved on to 64 points, six clear of third-placed Napoli who host Fiorentina on Sunday.
Roma are 11 points adrift of Juventus who are clear favourites to win at rock-bottom Catania on Sunday.
"It`s a big win against a team that play good football," said Rodrigo Taddei who excelled in midfield in the absence of the injured Kevin Strootman and suspended Daniele De Rossi.
"I think I did my job just as the manager asked and what`s important to me is always to be ready when I`m called upon."
Chievo stayed fifth from bottom, level on 24 points with Livorno who lost 3-1 at Torino after a stunning Ciro Immobile hat-trick.
Immobile`s treble put him top of the league`s scoring charts on 16 goals and should make Italy manager Cesare Prandelli sit up and take notice of the 24-year-old.
"Prandelli knows how much effort I put into everything I do. If he decides to call me up I`ll give my all," said the Torino forward.
Chievo and Livorno are one point above the drop zone. Third from bottom Bologna take on Cagliari on Sunday.
A defensive howler let Gervinho in for Roma`s opener.
WEAK HEADER
Chievo defender Bostjan Cesar had lots of time to clear a hopeful punt but headed weakly back towards keeper Michael Agazzi, allowing the Ivorian to pounce.
Another bad back pass from Dario Dainelli gifted the ball to Destro and, instead of shooting, the Roma striker tried to round the keeper and could only crash a poor shot into the side netting.
The 23-year-old then grabbed his second goal in as many games as he expertly collected Taddei`s incisive through ball and shot into the bottom corner.
Despite a better display from Chievo in the second half it was such a comfortable night for Roma that Garcia took off 37-year-old captain and talisman Francesco Totti, whose form has led to talk of a place at the World Cup in Brazil in June, with half an hour left.
The only sour note for the visitors was the late booking for central defender Mehdi Benatia who after picking up his eighth yellow card of the season will be suspended for next week`s clash with Torino and red-hot striker Immobile.
"It looked easy because we played so well in the first half. I didn`t like the second half as much but we didn`t concede," said Garcia.
"I have players that always want to win. They don`t take anything for granted."
Under-fire Dutch coach Clarence Seedorf takes mid-table AC Milan to Lazio on Sunday where the home fans will be carrying out the latest in a series of protests against president Claudio Lotito.
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.