Gianluca Mancini headed home the winning goal in the Derby della Capitale as Roma defeated rivals Lazio 1-0 at the Stadio Olimpico.
In a typically tight affair, Mancini’s 42nd-minute header proved the difference between the two sides as Daniele De Rossi won his first Rome derby as a coach.
Daichi Kamada did have the ball in the net for Lazio but the Japanese international was in an offside position from Matteo Guendouzi’s defence-splitting pass.
While Lazio failed to bounce back from the Coppa Italia semi-final defeat to Juventus, Roma consolidated their grip on fifth in Serie A.
De Rossi’s side started the game on the front foot, winning a corner inside the first minute, with Leandro Paredes’s drive an early warning for Lazio.
Lazio captain Ciro Immobile had an early sight of goal for the Biancocelesti when they won the ball high up the pitch and Immobile struck a right footed effort into the side netting.
At the other end, a Roma free-kick landed at an unmarked Diego Llorente, who saw two half-volleys blocked, the second of which bounced just wide of a post.
Lorenzo Pellegrini, back in the Roma team after suspension, then tested goalkeeper Christos Mandas with a long-range effort, and the Giallorossi spurned another opportunity when Zeki Celik headed over from close range.
Roma's goal did arrive before half-time, though – Mancini powering a header beyond the despairing reach of Christos Mandas.
After the break, Pellegrini narrowly curled wide a free kick before Romelu Lukaku surged forward and played in Stephan El Shaarawy, who smashed the woodwork.
Lukaku almost tapped in from Bryan Cristante’s centre, before Kamada saw what he thought was an equaliser disallowed for offside.
Tensions heated up between both sets of players with an altercation between Guendouzi and Paulo Dybala sparking the fire, but Roma ultimately kept their discipline to hold off late Lazio pressure and further their hopes of Champions League qualification.
De Rossi's Roma resurgence continues
Roma stretched their unbeaten run to seven league matches to keep their Champions League ambitions alive.
Roma dominated possession throughout the match and midfielder Pellegrini was a welcome return to the midfield, though striker Lukaku was rarely involved with just eight touches in the first half.
The Giallorossi did manage their breakthrough after neat intricate play earned a corner and Dybala’s delivery was met by Mancini, for his fourth league goal of the season.
They could not build on the dominant first half after the break, showing a different side of their game to limit Lazio to few clear-cut chances.
Lazio's European hopes fading
Lazio’s four-match unbeaten streak against their rivals in the 183rd edition of this derby came to an end.
They have now lost six of their last seven matches in all competitions and sit four points off European qualification.
They offered little in the first half, with no shots on target as Roma dominated proceedings and they have still not won a Serie A match when behind at the break.
Coach Igor Tudor made three changes at half-time, including taking off Immobile, and Lazio managed to push Roma deeper into their own half, but Mile Svilar remained largely untested.
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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