Roma 4-0 Fiorentina: Match report, reaction and key statistics

Roma produced arguably their best performance of the season so far on Tuesday night, as they demolished Fiorentina 4-0 at the Stadio Olimpico.

On a day full of good news - first Mohamed Salah returned ahead of schedule to make the bench for the match, then news emerged that there could soon be an end to the barriers at the Olimpico - the Giallorossi saved the best of the lot for the pitch, as Edin Dzeko (twice), Federico Fazio and Radja Nainggolan fired the hosts to a emphatic win.

The Belgian's goal was undoubtedly the pick of the bunch - a scintillating team move that saw the ball moved from one box to the other in the blink of an eye. More than half the Roma team were involved before Nainggolan finished emphatically from inside the box - a strike that illustrated the high level of quality this side is capable of reaching.

It also served to confirm the three points - and a landmark achievement for this team, as they set a new club record of 14 successive home league victories.

It did not always look like ending that way, especially after a somewhat sloppy start that allowed Fiorentina plenty of time in the opposition half. But Dzeko - back on top of the Serie A goalscoring charts by the end of the night - broke the deadlock in clinical fashion from Daniele De Rossi's exquisite pass, and from that point on Luciano Spalletti's side were in total control.

Fazio doubled the advantage just before the hour-mark, rising highest to meet De Rossi's free-kick. That seemed to free the team up further and so soon came Radja's moment of magic, as he swept home after a breathtaking team move left the Viola players clutching at thin air.

The whole stadium rose to applaud the goal, and that wave of euphoria seemed to carry the home side to the finish line. Dzeko would duly get his second - pouncing on a Davide Astori mistake - to round off the scoring.

Four goals, three points, back up to second. A great night for Roma.

Team selection

With Diego Perotti not fit enough to start to the game, Stephan El Shaarawy continued in attack - while Kostas Manolas was also restored to the defence after missing the last league game, against Sampdoria.

There was further good news on the bench - with new signing Clement Grenier joined by Mohamed Salah, after his rapid return from the Africa Cup of Nations.

Key moments

FIRST HALF

14' - VITAL FROM FAZIO! Chiesa breaks the offside trap and lobs Szczesny, but Fazio is back to head the ball away!

20' - CLOSE! Radja slips the ball to Peres inside the box, but the wing-back curls his shot fractionally wide!

30' - GREAT CHANCE! Radja's brilliant disguised ball finds Peres free six yards out - but he can't hit the target!

31' - Much better from Roma now. Dzeko forces a smart save from Tatarusanu from just inside the box.

39' - GOAL! ROMA LEAD! What a pass from De Rossi, who splits the defence with a brilliant delivery! And what a cool finish from Dzeko! 1-0!

43' - Roma buzzing now. Dzeko is denied from close range by Tatarusanu, then Radja fires over acrobatically...

1 / 7

2 / 7

3 / 7

4 / 7

5 / 7

6 / 7

7 / 7

See more images in our match gallery.

SECOND HALF

57' - GOAL! ROMA TWO AHEAD! De Rossi's inviting free-kick is met by Federico Fazio, and his header hits the inside of the far post and goes in! 2-0!

66' - Another dangerous attacking move from Roma ends with Tatarusanu gratefully holding El Shaarawy's header...

70' - Roma playing some great stuff now! Emerson beats his man and finds Rudiger, who hits the side-netting!

75' - GOAL! WHAT A TEAM FINISH! A true thing of beauty: El Shaarawy finds Emerson who clears to Dzeko. De Rossi pounces on the lay-off and releases Strootman with a first-time pass, and the Dutchman squares for Nainggolan ... who gathers brilliantly before lashing home! 3-0!

82' - GOAL! TWO FOR DZEKO! The striker pounces on Astori's hesitation to steal the lose ball, before calmly slotting his shot beyond Tatarusanu! 4-0!

Key match statistics

See more match statistics in our match centre.

Social media reaction

Roma reaction

“I think we were particularly easy on the eye today. You tend to find more space when you play a side like Fiorentina and I think the fact we scored in the first half helped to open them up even more. Of course you need to remain focused and strong, so we deserve a lot of credit too. We've played like that a lot recently, but today we did more than just get the result – we were great to watch too."
 

- Daniele De Rossi

“People were doubting us and insinuating things about our performances. It can be hard to deal with certain situations here. But these lads are made of stern stuff and they responded. We played a physical game and showed character. After the 30-minute mark we went and chased them high up the pitch. My players won the physical battles tonight.”

- Luciano Spalletti

What's next?

The Giallorossi now enter a busy spell in their season, as they return to Serie A action away to Crotone on Sunday.

They then have two Thursday meetings with Villarreal in the Europa League - with the away leg taking place next week - before hosting Torino the following weekend.

ROMA 4-0 FIORENTINA

Goalscorers: Dzeko (39', 82'), Fazio (57'), Nainggolan (75')

Roma: Szczesny; Manolas, Fazio, Rudiger; Peres, Strootman, De Rossi (Paredes), Emerson; El Shaarawy (Totti), Nainggolan (Grenier); Dzeko.

Fiorentina: Tatarusanu; Sanchez, Rodriguez, Astori; Chiesa, Vecino, Badelj, Olivera; Bernardeschi, Valero; Babacar.