Pellegrini delighted to deliver decisive goal

The Giallorossi completed a third straight away win in the league in determined fashion at the Studio Luigi Ferraris, capitalising on an early penalty before seeing out the remainder of the 90 minutes.

Pellegrini converted from the spot, after VAR had flagged up a handball, inside the first 10 minutes – an ultimately pivotal moment in the game.

“It was a penalty we needed to score, but I didn’t have any doubts standing over it,” Pellegrini said.

“Perhaps at Empoli [where he missed a penalty] I wanted to get off the mark in the league a bit too much and missed it – but today I knew I had to score.”

He added: “Today was a great win, not because of the penalty or the first half performance, but because in the second half we showed that our determination to win is something really impressive.”

The club captain also celebrated his 200th appearance in Serie A on the night, and afterwards he was asked what the thousands of Roma fans in attendance could expect from their side over the remainder of the season.

“To be as honest as I can be with the fans, who deserve the very best, I will say that I don’t know what we are capable of achieving,” Pellegrini said.

“But I know we will not back down even one centimetre and we will always fight for every ball. I think – and I hope – that they will be proud of us.”