Goals from Artem Dovbyk, Paulo Dybala and Tommaso Baldanzi gave Roma a comfortable three points against Udinese who had been surprise league leaders before this weekend. Now coached by Ivan Juric, Roma moved up to ninth on six points after a confident display in front of a fractious crowd at the Stadio Olimpico which was more interested in expressing anger at De Rossi's shock dismissal on Wednesday.

Supporters hurled abuse at the team from the stands while the entire Curva Sud section of the Olimpico, where the hardcore supporters stand, was empty for the first half an hour of the match. Fans unfurled in the empty stand a banner which accused the club's American owners, the billionaire Friedkin family, of not respecting "our values or our legends".

By the time fans started pouring into the Curva Sud Roma were ahead thanks to Dovbyk's goal, but that didn't stop loud chants of De Rossi's name ringing around the stadium. Midfielders Lorenzo Pellegrini and Bryan Cristante were given particularly caustic treatment due to rumours that they had a role in De Rossi being sacked which have swept around Rome.

Pellegrini, also born and raised in Rome, was given a huge round of jeers when he was substituted in the 69th minute, with Roma two ahead thanks to Dybala's 49th-minute penalty and moments before Baldanzi swept Roma's third past Udinese goalkeeper Maduka Okoye. But the match was a sideshow for the protests which will continue unless Juric's team can continue with the sort of display which earned Roma the three points on Sunday.

The anger at De Rossi's dismissal has been such that CEO Lina Souloukou, who resigned on Saturday morning, had been placed under police protection after online threats made against her and family. A banner hung outside Roma's Trigoria training ground described Greek Souloukou, who was previously CEO of Olympiakos, as "evil".

Later Inter Milan gun for their seventh straight derby win over AC Milan as the two giants of Italian football face off at the San Siro in vastly different spirits. Inter will move top of the league on goal difference with a win over Milan, who have collected five points from their first four domestic matches and were thumped by Liverpool in the Champions League midweek.

Earlier Albert Gudmundsson netted a brace of penalties on his Fiorentina debut to fire his new team to their first win of the campaign, 2-1 against Lazio.

September 22, 2024

T. Baldanzi

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