Roma – whose 19-match unbeaten Serie A run under Claudio Ranieri was only broken by Atalanta last Monday – got off to a barnstorming start, and their third-minute opener was no less than they deserved
Matías Soulé’s inswinging corner dropped into a busy six-yard box and was met eagerly by Gianluca Mancini, who rose above Fikayo Tomori and bulleted past Mike Maignan.
Given that Roma had scored exactly one goal in each of their last nine league outings, Milan would have been confident of a response, but Santiago Giménez complicated things further by elbowing Mancini off the ball and consequently saw a straight red card
Predictably, the hosts responded by dominating possession, but they didn’t look too likely to double their advantage.
In contrast, Milan appeared hungry after losing the Coppa Italia final in midweek, and some good fortune went their way when Álex Jiménez’s effort bounced off Mile Svilar straight to João Félix, who rasped into the open net for his first Serie A goal.
And the personnel disadvantage continued to be a non-factor after HT, with chances at either end showing it was anyone’s game.
That was until a moment of magic from Roma’s Leandro Paredes, who audaciously chose to shoot from a long-range free-kick, stunningly finding the inside of the near post with a thunderous effort.
Ranieri’s side initially held on well against a tired-looking Milan side, but the final 10 minutes brought more chances from the Rossoneri, including Rafael Leão’s one-on-one effort that was stopped by Svilar.
But Roma rallied and dealt a final killer blow on the counter, as Maignan’s double save was put in vain by Bryan Cristante, who fired in an unstoppable effort from the edge of the area.
Despite his heroics since taking over in November, Ranieri has always been clear that this was merely a hiatus from retirement, and he will be remembered fondly after winning his last game at the Stadio Olimpico.
Milan might now be just two points from seventh place, but the only scenario in which they end up there involves cup winners – and therefore guaranteed European participants – Bologna finishing below them, meaning that a European spot is now beyond the Rossoneri’s reach.
