Mohamed Salah and Stephan El Shaarawy fired a double apiece
and Edin Dzeko struck late as Roma put Juventus’s title celebrations on hold
with a 5-3 win at Chievo on Saturday.
But with Napoli only one point further adrift and desperate
to snatch Serie A’s second automatic Champions League qualifying spot, Luciano
Spalletti’s men were in no mood for capitulating early.
The capital club’s 27th win of the season kept them in
second place but, a week after stunning Juve 3-1 at the Stadio Olimpico, they
closed the gap on Juventus to one point.
A Juventus win at home against Crotone, who are third from
bottom and one point from safety, will see the treble-chasing champions win the
scudetto and secure a record third consecutive league and Cup double.
Massimiliano Allegri’s men – who face Real Madrid in the
June 3 Champions League final in Cardiff – outplayed Lazio 2-0 in midweek on
their way to a record third consecutive Italian Cup.
Roma will finish the season empty-handed by comparison, but
finishing second and enjoying a better Champions League campaign than their
doomed one this season remains a priority.
But by the end of a shaky first half at the Bentegodi
stadium, Giallorossi fans had reason for concern.
Chievo took a 15th minute lead through Lucas Castro’s low
volley past Roma goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny from 10 yards.
Chievo saw Valter Birsa fire an angled shot just wide
moments later, but Roma levelled on 28 minutes when El Shaarawy sprang the
offside trap to pounce on a Federico Fazio knockdown in midfield and roll into
an empty net from the edge of the area.
Roma’s defence proved just as shaky, the visitors left
shaking their heads when Inglese was allowed to run in unmarked to meet Birsa’s
cross and nod past Szczesny on 37 minutes.
Salah spurned a chance for a quick leveller when he nodded
straight at Sorrentino from point-blank range, but the Egyptian made quick
amends with a left-footed curler that took a deflection before wrong-footing
Sorrentino on 42 minutes.
El Shaarawy’s second was a delight, the forward running on
to a superb, 30-yard cross into space by Strootman that bamboozled the Chievo
defence.
The ex-AC Milan striker was given plenty of space to control
and turn before firing past Sorrentino at his far post.
Yet, gaping holes in the Roma defence meant a change of
strategy for Spalletti.
Despite nursing a calf strain, Belgium midfielder Radja
Nainggolan replaced El Shaarawy for the last 20 minutes and soon set up Dzeko
for a strike from the left side of the area that Sorrentino pushed to safety.
Roma were regaining momentum, and when Dzeko collected
Daniele De Rossi’s smart dink outside the area, the Bosnian found the
overlapping Salah to his left for a left-foot strike that beat Sorrentino at
his near post.
Spalletti introduced club icon Francesco Totti for Dzeko for
the final five minutes, only for Chievo to reduce arrears seconds later when
Inglese sneaked in at the far post to grab his second.
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