ROME, Jan 21 — Daniele De Rossi got off to a winning start to life as Jose Mourinho’s successor at Roma on Saturday after his boyhood club beat struggling Verona 2-1 at an emotional Stadio Olimpico.

First-half goals from Romelu Lukaku and Lorenzo Pellegrini were just enough for Roma, who are eighth in Serie A, to get past Verona and give De Rossi a tight debut win after taking over on Tuesday.

Former Italy midfielder De Rossi, who played for nearly two decades at Roma and is a huge favourite among supporters, was brought in after Mourinho’s sudden sacking.

“Coming back has been a real pleasure. When I came to games as a fan, or when I walked around Rome, I always felt love from the fans,” said De Rossi to DAZN.

“On one hand there are a lot of emotions in play but also a lot of tension because I’ve got a job to do.”

Roma took advantage of fourth-placed Fiorentina not playing a league fixture this weekend due to their Italian Super Cup commitments in Saudi Arabia by moving to within two points of the Champions League positions.

Verona, who have serious financial problems and have unloaded seven players this month, sit just inside the relegation zone after their 12th defeat in 21 matches.

However Roma didn’t have it all their own way as Michael Folorunsho pulled one back with a well-struck shot in the 76th minute which Roma goalkeeper Rui Patricio should have kept out.

Earlier Rome-born Folorunsho, who said pre-match that he is a Lazio fan, had a goal disallowed for a soft-looking foul, while Verona striker Milan Djuric smashed a penalty over the bar just after the hour mark.

Mourinho tributes

A large portion of Roma’s support is still livid at Mourinho’s dismissal despite the poor results which left them ninth before Saturday’s match, with posters appearing in Rome demanding American billionaire owner Dan Friedkin sell the club.

And the rancour was not dispelled by De Rossi’s return, with boos and whistles accompanying the players to the pitch for their pre-match warm-up.

A series of banners displayed in the stands hailed Mourinho, who is still idolised by success-starved fans in the Italian capital for winning the Europa Conference League in 2022 and reaching the Europa League final last season.

One said Mourinho would have “eternal glory” while another simply read: “It was a pleasure having you on our side... thank you Jose”.

De Rossi’s name rung around the ground just before kick-off and after a hard-fought win which highlighted the difficulty of the task he has taken on.

But making such hard work of a team in serious trouble also led to a smattering of boos and whistles as the players approached the fans after the final whistle.

“If we had played better in the second half people would have probably been happier at the end of the game,” added De Rossi.

“But we won, we got three points and we should celebrate victories, recreate enthusiasm.”

Later on Saturday AC Milan will try and cut the nine-point gap separating them from league leaders Inter Milan when they face Udinese. — AFP