Pescara vs AS Roma, Final Score 0-1: Roma ruin Bergodi’s Delfini debut

Mattia Destro scored the only goal of the game after five minutes to condemn Pescara to their third successive defeat. It was a stern test for new coach Cristiano Bergodi, who picked up from where Giovanni Stroppa left off - with a loss. Roma move into joint fifth position, while their opponents prop up the table.

Pescara came into the game without suspended trio Damiano Zenon, Marco Capuano and Emmanuel Cascione, while injured duo Giuseppe Colucci and Manuele Blasi also sat out.

Miralem Pjanic deputised for the suspended Daniele De Rossi, while Destro earned a rare start in place of the injured Erik Lamela. Rodrigo Taddei and Maarten Stekelenburg remained on the sidelines.

Destro was first to react after Mattia Perin couldn't hold Francesco Totti's venomous free kick, and he registered his second goal in a Roma shirt. Speaking of shirts, this time Destro kept his on, learning from his Palermo mistake earlier in the season.

Poor decision making from Mauro Goicoechea almost let Francesco Modesto in on 20 minutes, as the young goalkeeper hesitated before coming for a loose ball. The Uruguayan custodian redeemed himself and got the ball clear.

The visitors laid siege to the Pescara goal in the first five minutes of the second half. Christian Terlizzi stood firm to stop Destro from turning him. Moments later, the frontman just missed getting on the end of an Ivan Piris ball.

After Alessandro Florenzi fired wide of the post, Destro hooked a shot wide when all alone in the box. The former Genoa and Siena man wrongly thought he was offside, as he and Pablo Daniel Osvaldo were both left unmarked. Osvaldo was offside, but Destro wasn't. Perin denied the frustrated forward once again, saving a low drive with his legs.

Ten minutes in, Juan Fernando Quintero was booed off the pitch by his own fans as the ineffective Colombian made way for Vladimir Weiss.

Just short of the hour, Perin was rooted to the spot and could only watch as Totti curled a shot wide of the far post. On the hour, Federico Balzaretti crossed for Destro to spurn another chance and head wide.

Roma lost Florenzi to a hamstring injury and Destro was withdrawn, following a studs-up challenge by substitute Danilo Soddimo. The Pescara man was rightly booked and lucky not to be dismissed.

The home side's best chance came on 83 minutes. Matti Lund Nielsen's shot ricocheted off the arm of Marquinhos and the ball fell nicely to the feet of Elvis Abbruscato in the box, but his shot hit the Roma defence. The visitors took the ball down the other end, only for Marquinho to slip at the crucial moment, which saw the chance go begging.