Juventus Sack Rome

Juventus convincingly beat Roma 3-1 at the Stadio Olimpico, courtesy of two goals from Diego and one from Felipe Melo.
This fixture has become something of a rivalry, with both clubs doing their best to embarrass the other. Totti famously irritated Juve with his 4-finger salute after a 4-0 win, and Juve have handed Roma some serious thrashings in recent years. Last year Juve recorded a 4-1 win at the Olimpico, and this year were tipped to beat Roma easily, given the Lupi's bad form and lack of significant reinforcements over the summer, but Roma were always going to put a lot of energy in to the fixture. Juve started the match with Diego in the hole behind Amauri and Iaquinta, who scored last week. Melo got his first start of the season for the Bianconeri, while Camoranesi, Del Piero, and Poulsen were all on the bench. Roma started with Julio Sergio, their 3rd choice goalkeeper between the sticks, but otherwise the Lupi lined up as expected, with Totti leading the attack. Juve started the better of the two sides, out-passing Roma, but Roma's tough tackling and energy made it very difficult for the Bianconeri to create clear opportunities. The referee's reluctance to hand out yellow cards meant that the tension in the match built of very quickly, with Roma players in particular guilty of some brutish tackles. Juve's quality started to show more and more, and Amauri was inches away from converting Iaquinta's excellent cross (he should give the Juve fullbacks some tips), and Sergio was called on to make an excellent save after Tiago headed on Diego's free kick. Juve were not to be denied though, and in the 25th minute Diego picked Cassetti's pocket, and set off the field. After racing away from Cassetti, Diego held off Riise's challenge, and flicked the ball in to the corner from the outside of his right foot, leaving Sergio no chance. It was an excellent way to announce his arrival in Serie A, and the Juve fans responded. However, Roma responded quickly, taking a free kick which took Juve unawares, got the ball quickly to De Rossi, who blasted a long-range dipping shot past Buffon and under the bar. Juve responded well, with Amauri being denied by a diving Sergio save and the post. Juve continued to press, but Roma sprang on the counter, and Buffon had to perform a brilliant save after Totti had been sent through by Menez. At the half, Tonetto replaced Taddei, but this didn't bring any improvement from Roma. Amauri again got free, but his left-footed shot was right at Sergio. The angle wasn't great, but Amauri should have done better. Claudio Marchisio was eventually forced off from a toe injury, and was replaced by Camoranesi, promptly lowering the odds on a sending off. Juve were still the better team, and when Iaquinta's nifty back-heel sent Diego through, the Brazilian bamboozled Mexes with a couple step-overs and smashed the ball in to the far corner. Vucinic was thrown on to replace Riise, and Roma started to be far more dangerous. Legrottagli was put in for De Ceglie, and Chiellini was moved to LB to make room for Legro. Roma continued to press higher up the pitch, as Juve were unable to relieve the pressure. Totti smashed a slightly-deflected drive off the post, Buffon rooted to the spot, and Menez and De Rossi also wasting promising opportunities. Goal-hero Diego was taken off for Poulsen, as Juve strengthened the midfield. Roma were unable to make their pressure tell though, and in the end it was debutant Felipe Melo, winning the ball in midfield, who strode up the field and smashed a left-footed shot in to the right corner, to seal the win for the Bianconeri.