Roma beat Sampdoria to move into Italy’s top four

Roma moved into Serie A’s top four on Monday with a 1-0 win at Sampdoria which left their hosts rooted to the bottom of the league.

Lorenzo Pellegrini’s ninth-minute penalty ensured Roma leapfrogged local rivals Lazio into fourth place, four points behind league leaders Napoli.

Jose Mourinho’s side earned a hard-fought win at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris without injured Paulo Dybala, who will potentially be out of action for Roma until January.

Samp’s seventh defeat of their 10 league fixtures was the first for coach Dejan Stankovic after replacing sacked Marco Giampaolo earlier this month.

Former midfielder Stankovic, who resigned from the Red Star Belgrade job after they failed to qualify for the Champions League group stages, won the competition as a player with Mourinho at Inter.

However his winless team did little to merit anything from Monday’s match, leaving them three points from safety.

Substitute Nicolo Zaniolo would have given Roma a more comfortable win had he not he not dragged wide from close range in the 77th minute after pinching the ball from Omar Colley.

There was more drama in the stands than on the pitch as former Samp president Massimo Ferrero had to be escorted from the stadium by security staff after unexpectedly showing up to watch the match.

Ferrero was forced to step down from his role at Samp after he was charged with fraudulent bankruptcy and spent time in prison.

Samp fans found out that Ferrero had arrived and tried to make get at him in the stands and according to media reports even in the hospitality centre, forcing his exit before the match finished.

Lecce host Fiorentina hoping to extend the two-point gap between them and the relegation in Monday’s late match.