Serie A: Bologna 0 Roma 1

Daniele De Rossi has handed new coach Vincenzo Montella victory on debut, scoring the winner in Roma’s 1-0 result at Bologna on Wednesday.

The Italy international, who was lucky to avoid being sent off for a second caution just minutes before scoring, ensured Roma snapped the three-game losing streak that ultimately led to Claudio Ranieri’s resignation from the Serie A club.

Montella rang the changes in his first game as manager, promoting Brazilian custodian Doni to number one ahead of compatriot Julio Sergio and dropping iconic captain Francesco Totti to the bench.

The midweek game, rescheduled after being abandoned in January due to snow, bizarrely began with a corner at the 17-minute mark – the point at which the original fixture was called off.

De Rossi should have earned a second yellow card for clearing the ball with his hand in the 41st minute, and four minutes later he popped up to slot home Mirko Vucinic’s centre past Bologna goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano.

Roma rise to sixth on the Serie A table with their first win in a month, six points adrift of fourth-placed city rivals Lazio.