Roma 3-1 AC Milan: Ranieri's team keep Champions League dream alive
Claudio Ranieri marked his 500th Serie A game with a victory over AC Milan, ensuring Roma's hopes of a top-four finish stayed intact.
Roma kept their hopes of finishing in the Champions League places alive after beating 10-man AC Milan 3-1 at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday.
Claudio Ranieri's team moved on to 66 points, one behind fourth-placed Juventus, who beat Udinese 2-0 thanks to goals from Nicolas Gonzalez and Dusan Vlahovic.
The Giallorossi know they must win away to Torino on the final day, while also relying on Venezia, who are fighting to stay in Serie A, to get a result against Juventus next week.
It took just three minutes for Roma to open the scoring when captain Gianluca Mancini rose highest to power Matias Soule's corner past Mike Maignan.
Milan's troubles were worsened in the 21st minute when Santiago Gimenez was shown a straight red card for a needless elbow to the chest of goalscorer Mancini.
Despite going a man down, Milan equalised six minutes before the break through Joao Felix, who finished into the net after Mile Svilar had saved Alex Jimenez's initial effort.
But Roma restored their lead in the 58th minute when Leandro Paredes' stunning free-kick from distance found the bottom-right-hand corner to spark wild scenes in the stadium.
Milan, however, refused to back down and almost levelled the game once more through Rafael Leao, but his left-footed effort from close range was thwarted by Svilar.
Bryan Cristante made sure of the win three minutes from time, picking out the bottom corner from just outside the box after Maignan had repelled successive efforts from Angelino and Stephan El Shaarawy.
Data Debrief: 500 down and one more to go for Ranieri
Though Ranieri's main focus will be securing Champions League football for Roma next season, he marked his 500th Serie A game with a victory on Sunday in his penultimate match in management before his second retirement.
He also became only the second coach, alongside Nils Liedholm, to manage Roma in three different decades in the Italian top-flight, while also earning a rare win for Roma over Milan in the process.
Indeed, Roma beat Milan in Serie A for the first time since October 2019, breaking a streak of 10 consecutive matches without a win against them (D4 L6).
And Roma's impressive home form also continued, extending their unbeaten streak at the Stadio Olimpico to 12 consecutive matches (W10 D2). Only under Paulo Fonseca in 2020-21 (12 - nine wins, three draws) have they managed more.