Roma squeeze past Cagliari in coronavirus-hit Italy

In Sardinia, Roma extended Cagliari's 12-match winless run with a victory which should have been more comfortable.

Paulo Fonseca's side were well on top when Joao Pedro looped in a brilliant opener for the home side in the 28th minute, and they were deservedly in front by the break thanks to two close-range finishes from Nikola Kalinic. Croat Kalinic, on loan from Atletico Madrid, then flicked Justin Kluivert through to slot home the third just after the hour mark, but with the match looking as good as done, Gaston Pereiro was allowed to stroll towards goal and pull one back with a neat curling strike.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan restored Roma's two-goal advantage when he got the slightest of touches to Aleksandar Kolarov's swinging free-kick but the hosts were given another lifeline when Chris Smalling handled Marko Rog's cross in the final minute.

Pau Lopez got his hand to Pedro's penalty but couldn't stop the Brazilian from heading home on the rebound to make it a nervy finish for Roma.