MILAN — Roma moved up to fourth place in Serie A after grinding out a 1-0 win at bottom club Sampdoria, where former president Massimo Ferrero was escorted out of the stadium by security.
An early Lorenzo Pellegrini penalty was enough to see Roma leapfrog Udinese and city rival Lazio and move to within four points of Serie A leader Napoli. Jose Mourinho’s side hosts Napoli next weekend.
Sampdoria was four points below safety after collecting just three points from 10 matches.
Ferrero had not been to Sampdoria for more than a year, since shortly before his arrest for fraudulent bankruptcy that forced him to step down as president.
His appearance was met by jeers and insulting chants and he eventually left about 15 minutes after kickoff, escorted by security to protect him from unhappy supporters.
Roma was already 1-0 up by then as, with the help of the video assistant referee, it was awarded a penalty after Samp defender Alex Ferrari handled Tammy Abraham´s cross.
Pellegrini buried the penalty into the top left corner to give the visitors a ninth-minute lead.
Substitute Nicolo Zaniolo thought he doubled Roma advantage in stoppage time but it was disallowed for offside.
Fiorentina played at fellow struggler Lecce late, with both teams hovering close to the relegation zone.
Atalanta cannot say they are aiming for the Serie A title as the Bergamo-based side does not have enough resources to compete with bigger clubs, manager Gian Piero Gasperini said.
Atalanta are in second place, two points behind Napoli after 10 games, and extended their unbeaten run from the start of the season to a club record 10 matches with a 2-1 home win over Sassuolo.
“The world of football pushes in another direction, maybe towards the teams who have a bigger following. It looks like the first requirement to compete – not soccer, but the number of fans,” Gasperini told RadioRai.
“We, with our resources, cannot say that we will fight for the Scudetto.”
Gasperini took over in 2016 and led Atalanta to their first ever Champions League qualification in 2019 followed by two more seasons in Europe’s elite club competition.
The finished eighth in Serie A last season and failed to get into Europe for the first time since Gasperini became coach.
“Maybe we will aim for the Italian Cup, which is already a difficult target: otherwise I can say that having reached the Champions League for three times in a row is like switching on the spotlight,” he added.
Atalanta will face either fellow Serie A side Spezia or Serie B club Brescia, who meets on Wednesday, in the Italian Cup last 16.
