AC Milan 1-4 Roma: Match report, reaction and key statistics

For the first time since the 1954-55 season the Giallorossi have beaten both Inter and AC Milan home and away, with the final leg of that particular quartet confirmed thanks to a brace from Edin Dzeko and further strikes from Stephan El Shaarawy and Daniele De Rossi.

Dzeko scored twice in the first half to give Luciano Spalletti's side the lead, finishing clinically from Mohamed Salah's calm assist after just eight minutes before powering home a header from a corner to double the advantage.

Roma continued to push forward in what was becoming a dominant display but, after starting to ease up in the second half, they were briefly back in danger when Mario Pasalic headed home from a corner.

But substitute Stephan El Shaarawy scored just two minutes later to calm any growing nerves - before a last-minute De Rossi penalty rounded things off.

The result restores Roma to second in Serie A, one point ahead of Napoli and seven behind Juventus.

Team selection

Leandro Paredes and Juan Jesus were the two men chosen to replace Kevin Strootman and Antonio Rudiger, both of whom were suspended following last weekend's derby defeat.

Luciano Spalletti opted to make one further change to his team - with Diego Perotti coming in for Stephan El Shaarawy on the left.

There was also a switch at the back, with Jesus's addition at left-back seeing Emerson swap over to the other full-back slot.

Key moments

FIRST HALF

8' - GOAL! ROMA LEAD! What a finish from Dzeko! Salah wins the ball and the pair exchange passes before Dzeko sweeps home first time into the top corner! 0-1!

12' - Another chance falls to the visitors - but Salah's spinning half-volley is always rising...

17' - POST! Perotti has space and goes for the curler from 25-yards ... but Donnarumma tips it onto the post!

22' - Nearly Dzeko again! But this time he fires over after a dangerous chipped ball is only half-cleared into his path.

23' - Spell of pressure from the hosts now. Szczesny makes a good save to palm away Sosa's powerful long-range effort.

28' - GOAL! IT'S TWO! DZEKO AGAIN! This time the striker uses his head to find the net - meeting Paredes' corner at the near post and powering it beyond Donnarumma! 0-2!

37' - POST AGAIN! Another counter sees Donnarumma push Radja's shot onto the post - and Salah fires over the rebound!

41' - Donnarumma forced into action again, this time to smother Perotti's attempt from a tight angle...

See more images in our dedicated match gallery.

SECOND HALF

66' - Chance for Emerson inside the box ... but Donnarumma makes a good save.

67' - Dzeko has a look at a hat-trick as Radja plays him through ... but on his left foot he drags his shot wide.

74' - Another good save from Donnarumma, this time going low to his left to keep out El Shaarawy's attempt.

76' - Goal. Milan get one back. A corner is flicked on and Pasalic is at the back post to steer it home. 1-2.

78' - GOAL! TWO AHEAD AGAIN! What a finish that was! Dzeko does brilliantly to take the ball down and feed El Shaarawy, who then fires brilliantly into the top corner! 1-3!

85' - PENALTY! Salah beats Paletta and is then chopped down as he tries to shoot! And it's a red card for the defender!

86' - GOAL! NO MISTAKE! De Rossi goes low and to the keeper's left - Donnarumma gets a hand on it but the ball still flies in! 1-4!

Key match statistics

See more game statistics in our dedicated match centre.

Social media reaction

Roma reaction

"We had to win this match otherwise it would have been almost impossible to compete with Napoli. We were caught too often on the break in the last game, which is why tonight we said 'Let them come onto us'. We didn't want to get caught between two stools defensively."We won the ball back a lot and broke well too, even though we were profligate at 2-0. Had El Shaarawy not scored, I think the match would have become very tough."

- Luciano Spalletti

"We knew how important it was today and it had been a while since we were last behind Napoli. We know we deserve second place much like we perhaps haven't done enough to finish top."We knew how much this match was important in terms of that because it's never easy to win in Milan."

- Daniele De Rossi

What's next?

The Giallorossi are back in action on Sunday, as they host league leaders Juventus at the Stadio Olimpico.

AC MILAN 1-4 ROMA

Goalscorers: Pasalic (76'); Dzeko (8', 28'), El Shaarawy (78'), De Rossi (86' p.)

AC Milan: Donnarumma; De Sciglio, Paletta, Zapata, Vangioni (Ocampos); Pasalic, Sosa, Fernandez (Bertolacci); Suso, Lapadula, Deulofeu.

Roma: Szczesny; Jesus, Fazio, Manolas, Emerson; Paredes, De Rossi; Perotti (El Shaarawy), Nainggolan (Grenier), Salah; Dzeko (Peres).