A scintillating start was the key as Roma romped to a 3-1 victory over Crotone on Wednesday afternoon.

An early brace from Borja Mayoral, complemented by a 35th minute penalty from Henrikh Mkhitaryan, sent the Giallorossi cruising towards victory – and ensured they are in great form ahead of back-to-back league meetings with Inter Milan and Lazio.

It took just eight minutes for Mayoral to break the deadlock at the Ezio Scida, as Mkhitaryan fed him beautifully inside the six-yard box for the easiest of tap-ins.

Almost 20 minutes later the Spaniard showed he can do it all himself, however: unleashing an unstoppable 25-yard drive after Bryan Cristante had won the ball high up the pitch to put Paulo Fonseca’s side firmly in the driving seat.

When Mayoral was then brought down in the box soon after, it was Mkhitaryan who stepped up – with both Jordan Veretout and Lorenzo Pellegrini on the bench – and converted with the minimum of fuss.

From that point onwards it was something of a stroll for the Giallorossi, although a header from Vladimir Golemic did add a certain element of uncertainty to the final 20 minutes.

Roma are back in action on Sunday – as Inter travel to the Olimpico.