Stephan El Shaarawy scored in the final minute as Roma snatched a confidence-boosting 1-0 win over Monza, which had played more than half the match with 10 men.
Roma coach Jose Mourinho furiously celebrated the goal, which gave his team only its fourth league victory of the season.
However, Mourinho will not be on the bench for next weekend’s match at former club Inter Milan after he was sent off in stoppage time for making a crying eyes gesture at Monza coach Raffaele Palladino as both sets of staff bickered on the touchline.
Roma moved up to sixth in the table, ahead of the rest of the weekend’s matches. It could find itself 10 points off the top if AC Milan beats third-place Juventus later to reclaim the Serie A lead from city rival Inter Milan.
Roma appeared to have turned things around after a miserable start to the season and had managed back-to-back league wins before the international break.
Monza goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio made two huge saves either side of that dismissal, first pushing a point-blank Houssem Aouar header over the bar and then stopping Andrea Belotti’s effort on the line with his foot.
Roma hit the woodwork twice in the second half through Romelu Lukaku and Sardar Azmoun.
It finally broke the deadlock in somewhat chaotic circumstances as the ball bounced around the area before a rebound fell to El Shaarawy, who volleyed it in from 12 yards. It was the first goal Monza had conceded in almost a month.
INZAGHI’S BACK
Filippo Inzaghi recorded a point in his first match back coaching in Serie A as his Salernitana side snatched a 2-2 draw against Cagliari in what already looked to be a relegation battle.
Nicolas Viola appeared to have won it for Cagliari when he scored with two minutes remaining, barely two minutes after Boulaye Dia had canceled out Zito Luvumbo’s 79th-minute opener.
But Viola went from hero to villain as he swatted away the ball with his hand in the area and Dia converted the resulting penalty.
Inzaghi, who was a World Cup-winning forward, last coached in the Italian top flight in the 2020-21 season.
Salernitana remained a point above bottom club Cagliari.
Bologna beat Frosinone 2-1.
