Roma up to third with comfortable win over Verona

MILAN: Three goals inside the first half an hour earned AS Roma a comfortable 3-1 victory over Hellas Verona in Serie A on Sunday, with the win moving Paulo Fonseca's side above champions Juventus and into third in the standings.

Gianluca Mancini opened the scoring in the 20th minute with a header from a corner, before HenrikhMkhitaryan added a second with a fine finish two minutes later, the Armenian taking his tally to nine league goals for the season.

Borja Mayoral was alert to the loose ball to score a third in the 29th minute.

Verona substitute Ebrima Colley got the visitors back into the match in the 62nd minute, with Roma looking nervous at the back as Verona pressed for another, but the home side stood firm to see out the win.

The victory moves Roma on to 40 points, one point ahead of Juventus in fourth having played one game more. They are six points behind leaders AC Milan. Verona stay ninth with 30 points.

Napoli earned a 2-0 victory over lowly Parma thanks to a goal in each half on Sunday, with their Serie A win easing the pressure on under-fire coach GennaroGattuso.

In a poor first period, EljifElmas' solo effort in the 32nd minute broke the deadlock, with the midfielder beating three players before scoring.

Nervy Napoli spent the majority of the second half defending their lead before substitute MatteoPolitano's deflected strike in the 82nd minute made sure of the points, with every player going to Gattuso to celebrate.

Napoli publicly backed their coach this week as speculation persisted that Gattuso could be sacked. The result moved fifth-placed Napoli onto 37 points, two off the top four, further helping the 43-year-old's cause.

Parma stay second-bottom with 13 points, two off the safety zone, and are without a win in their last 11 league games. IANS

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