AS Roma coach Claudio Ranieri hailed captain Daniele de Rossi after victory at Sampdoria.

De Rossi managed to score the only goal of the game on Saturday.

Ranieri enthused: “Sampdoria play one or two touch football, so they are a very difficult side to press. The lads put in a wonderful performance. De Rossi is the soul of this team, the captain, the man who gets fired up and in turn fires up his teammates.

“I need a leader in this squad and that man is De Rossi, because all the others follow him. He is important for Roma and for this team.

“We came here wanting to win, but knowing Roma's history in this fixture, we were about to concede at the 95th minute."