Daniele De Rossi makes winning start as AS Roma begin life without Jose Mourinho with 2-1 victory over Hellas Verona

Daniele De Rossi made a winning start to life as AS Roma head coach with a 2-1 victory over Hellas Verona.

Goals from Romelu Lukaku and Lorenzo Pellegrini were enough to send the Giallorossi up to eighth in the table, while Verona remain in the bottom three.

It was an ideal start for legendary former Roma midfielder De Rossi, who was appointed on a contract until the end of the season following the sacking of Jose Mourinho.

“It was pleasing," De Rossi said afterwards. "When I came to watch games here, even just walking around the city, I always felt the affection of the fans.

“This is a different role, so while I felt very emotional, there was also a lot of pressure, as I have a job to do. I heard the fans calling me during the game and I could not be happier.”

There was a heartfelt moment at the final whistle as De Rossi took his squad to celebrate in front of the 'Curva Sud' stand.

“It is one of those moments that will remain in the photograph album of my life,” he said.

“I joked many years ago that my greatest regret was that I had only one career at Roma. Now it seems the second has been given to me and we’ll see how long it lasts.

“I have to enjoy the love of these people, but also work at 100 per cent, because they will never let me forget we were together for 20 years. It was only right to go there and thank them for that tribute, but I won’t go under the Curva every game.

“We must celebrate victories and recreate enthusiasm here, so even though the team did not play very well in the final 25 minutes, they showed heart, determination and brought home the result.”

There were, however, a number of messages of support in the stands for the much-loved Mourinho, who led the club to two European finals in as many seasons.

But with De Rossi in the dugout it took Roma just 19 minutes to break the deadlock when Stephan El Shaarawy surged into the box and picked out Lukaku, who rifled home his 15th goal of the season across all competitions.

The hosts doubled their lead six minutes later with El Shaarawy playing a pivotal role once again, flicking on a cross towards Pellegrini to smash a shot into the roof of the net.

Verona were given a route back into the contest when referee Juan Luca Sacchi pointed to the spot after judging that the ball had hit Diego Llorente’s arm in an unnatural position.

However, much to the relief of the majority inside the Stadio Olimpico, Milan Duric smashed the subsequent spot-kick over the bar.

The visitors did manage to halve the deficit in the 76th minute though, courtesy of Michael Folorunsho, in a goal which Roma shot-stopper Rui Patricio will not want to see back.

Folorunsho took aim from outside the box and saw his shot slip through Patricio’s grasp to set up a nervy last 15 minutes.

But De Rossi’s side held on to move themselves within two points of the top four, in an increasingly intriguing battle for the European places.

Meanwhile, a disappointing campaign for Verona hit another low, leaving Marco Baroni’s side without a win in 11 away matches.

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