Roma are comfortably dominating Torino with Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s goal and a Jordan Veretout penalty, as Wilfried Singo was sent off after 14 minutes.
Follow all the action as it happens and give your views on the LIVEBLOG.
The Giallorossi could catch Juventus in third place with a victory, and missed only suspended Bryan Cristante. Toro were in crisis, sitting bottom with Crotone, so Marco Giampaolo transformed his side. Salvatore Sirigu, Ricardo Rodriguez, Tomas Rincon and Nicolas Nkoulou were among those dropped, giving Vanja Milinkovic-Savic and Alessandro Buongiorno their first starts. Simone Zaza, Simone Verdi and Nicola Murru were injured.
Bruno Peres should’ve put Roma ahead after 11 minutes, but at the end of a fine team move including Leonardo Spinazzola nutmeg and Henrikh Mkhitaryan pull-back, the Brazilian hit a dreadful fresh-air shot undisturbed from 12 yards.
Torino’s night was immediately an uphill struggle, as Wilfried Singo managed to get two yellow cards in the opening 14 minutes. The second was somewhat harsh, as he and Spinazzola both went with feet raised to reach the ball, but the young wing-back was a little late.
After an inevitable siege, Roma broke through, as although Milinkovic-Savic did well to parry a Gianluca Mancini rocket, he could do nothing on Mkhitaryan’s follow-up from 10 yards, which bounced off the inside of the near post before he could react.
Spinazzola’s chest and half-volley shaved a coat of paint off the far post, but in the rare moments when Torino did get the ball, they gave it away again. On one such occasion, Andrea Belotti’s back-pass was catnip for Edin Dzeko, who was tripped just inside the box by Lyanco for a penalty, converted by Jordan Veretout.
To make things even worse, substitute Cristian Ansaldi was injured and replaced by Simone Edera.
Roma 2-0 Torino (Half-Time)
Mkhitaryan 27 (R), Veretout pen 43 (R)
Roma: Pau Lopez; Mancini, Smalling, Ibanez; Bruno Peres, Veretout, Villar, Spinazzola; Pellegrini, Mkhitaryan; Dzeko
Torino: V Milinkovic-Savic; Buongiorno, Bremer, Lyanco; Singo, Gojak (Ansaldi 23) (Edera 45), Meite, Linetty, Vojvoda; Lukic; Belotti
Ref: Abisso
Sent off: Singo 14 (T)