Stripped of the captaincy. His contract nearing expiration without a renewal proposal. After zero minutes played in the opening three matches, nothing seemed to be going Lorenzo Pellegriniâ€s way. Until the Rome derby. The Roman-born midfielder cast aside all the issues surrounding him and scored the decisive goal for Roma in a 1-0 win over Lazio in Serie A on Sunday.
“Aside from all the reasoning and words, there is one constant, which is that I love Roma,†said Pellegrini, who joined the club aged nine. “As long as I wear this shirt, there wonâ€t be a moment where I will hold back. Life is unpredictable, you donâ€t know what could happen next. I seemed on the verge of leaving and then got hurt. But today I started and scored to win the derby.â€
After being derided by Gian Piero Gasperini a day earlier when Romaâ€s new coach said that, at 29, Pellegrini has “got to become an athlete and start running,†the midfielder was perfectly positioned to strike when the chance came his way in the 38th minute. Devyne Rensch did well to strip the ball from Lazioâ€s left-back Nuno Tavares and rolled it across to the former-captain, stationed in the centre of the area, to fire home, prompting Romaâ€s end of the Stadio Olimpico to erupt with smoke bombs.
Lorenzo Pellegrini watches his shot fly past Lazioâ€s Ivan Provedel. Photograph: Alessandra Tarantino/AP
Pellegrini, who is also trying to regain his spot in Italyâ€s squad, celebrated with a kiss toward the Curva Sud and Romaâ€s ultras. Moments before the goal, a banner popped up in the Curva Sud that said: “Welcome back, captain.†It was Pellegriniâ€s fourth career goal in the Derby della Capitale – but his first since January in any competition.
A tempestuous match finished with Lazio having only 10 men after Reda Belahyane was shown a straight red card for a foul on Manu Koné in the 88th. Still, Lazio kept on threatening and Danilo Cataldi hit the post in stoppage time. The fireworks continued after the full-time whistle with Lazioâ€s Mattéo Guendouzi also shown a red card for dissent as the teamâ€s head back to the dressing rooms.
Roma have won three of the last four derbies without conceding a goal, with the teams drawing 1-1 in their previous meeting. The victory also continues the Giallorossiâ€s strong early season form, they have won three of their four opening matches under Gasperini, who replaced the retiring Claudio Ranieri after nine seasons at Atalanta. Lazio have lost three out of four games since Sarri was rehired in the summer.
In France, Le Classique between Marseille and PSG has been postponed. Ligue 1 confirmed the news ahead of the scheduled evening kick-off in the anticipation of a major storm in the south of France.
The match has been rearranged for Monday evening, which directly clashes with the Ballon dâ€Or ceremony in Paris, where many PSG players and the clubâ€s manager – Luis Enrique – are nominated for awards.
Atlético Madridâ€s struggles in La Liga persisted as they were held to a dramatic 1-1 draw by Mallorca on Sunday, with the goalkeeper Leo Román delivering an outstanding performance before Vedat Muriqiâ€s late header cancelled out Conor Gallagherâ€s opener.
The result left Diego Simeoneâ€s side languishing in 12th place with six points from five matches, while Mallorca are 19th with two points. Real Madrid lead the league with 15 points.
Conor Gallagher celebrates scoring for Atlético Madrid at Real Mallorca but his joy was short-lived. Photograph: Miquel A Borras/EPA
Román was pivotal for Mallorca, frustrating Atlético throughout the match with a series of remarkable saves. The 25-year-oldâ€s heroics began early, denying Giacomo Raspadoriâ€s audacious second-minute attempt with a one-handed save, before palming away Pablo Barriosâ€s effort in the seventh minute.
His performance included denying Julián Alvarez from the penalty spot early in the first half, a moment that encapsulated the visitors†inability to capitalise on their chances.
Atláticoâ€s frustrations mounted when Alexander Sørloth received a straight red card in the 72nd minute for a studs-up challenge on Antonio Raillo, leaving the visitors to play the final 18 minutes a man down.
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Atletico finally found a way through in the 79th minute. Gallagher was quickest to react after Román parried Marcos Llorenteâ€s low effort across goal, slotting home to give the visitors the lead.
But their celebrations proved short-lived. In the 85th minute, the 19-year-old substitute Jan Virgili whipped in a cross that caught Atleticoâ€s defence napping, allowing Muriqi to head past Jan Oblak at the far post.
Haris Tabakovic snatched Borussia Mönchengladbachâ€s first goal of the season with a stoppage-time equaliser that earned them a 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. Tabakovic headed in deep in stoppage time to cancel out Malik Tillmanâ€s 70th-minute goal for the hosts.
Gladbach, who sacked coach Gerardo Seoane on Monday after their worst start in 34 years following three league games without scoring a goal, had Eugen Polanski in the dugout as interim coach.
Haris Tabakovic (second left) scores Borussia Mönchengladbachâ€s equaliser at Bayer Leverkusen. Photograph: Federico Gambarini/AP
Leverkusen scored in the 70th minute when Tillman tapped in from 10 yards. With time running out Tabakovic rose high to connect with his fellow substitute Charles Herrmannâ€s corner for the equaliser that left Leverkusen in 12th place on five points.
Gladbach, who are without a league win in their last 11 matches, including last season, are 17th on two points.
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