Daniele De Rossi’s goal helps Roma win on emotional night as Serie A resumes

Posted Saturday, March 10, 2018 by PA

Daniele De Rossi was among the goalscorers as Roma recorded a 3-0 win over Torino on an emotional night at the Stadio Olimpico.

The Giallorossi captain made himself available to play despite last weekend’s death of his close friend and former Roma and Italy team-mate Davide Astori at the age of 31.

De Rossi doubled Roma’s lead against Torino after Konstantinos Manolas had opened the scoring, with Lorenzo Pellegrini wrapping things up late on.

Players from both sides observe a minute''s silence for Davide Astori.💛💜❤️ #ASRoma #RomaTorino pic.twitter.com/V9SVljcnoZ
— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) March 9, 2018

All three goals came in the second half as third-placed Roma closed the gap on second-placed Juventus to 12 points heading into the weekend’s fixtures.

Players from both teams stood side-by-side as a minute’s silence was observed before kick-off in memory of Astori.

There was also a tribute from the Roma fans at the Stadio Olimpico for Astori, who played for the club during the 2014-15 season.

The Curva Sud remembers Davide Astori… 💛💜❤️#ASRoma #CiaoDavide pic.twitter.com/Xl0mALxU5P
— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) March 9, 2018

Fiorentina captain Astori was found dead in his hotel room in Udine on Sunday, hours before his side were due to face Udinese in a Serie A fixture, with a preliminary autopsy on Tuesday finding cardiac arrest as the cause.

All of Sunday’s top-flight matches were postponed following Astori’s death, and Friday night’s match in Rome was the first Serie A fixture since the tragedy.

After a goalless first half, Greece defender Manolas broke the deadlock in the 56th minute when he rose unmarked in the box to power home Alessandro Florenzi’s brilliant cross with an unstoppable header.

😢#ASRoma #RomaTorino #CiaoDavide pic.twitter.com/w4zwMvDFOY
— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) March 9, 2018

De Rossi, who attended Astori’s funeral in Florence on Thursday, made it 2-0 in the 73rd minute with his first Roma goal since May.

Radja Nainggolan headed the ball back into the area after an attemped cross had been blocked and De Rossi, who had stayed onside, volleyed home on the turn.

Pellegrini, who replaced De Rossi in the 84th minute, completed the scoring when he finished off a lightening-quick counter-attack in stoppage time.