Paulo Dybala scored twice as Roma eased to a 4-0 thumping of Cagliari at the Stadio Olimpico on Monday to notch a third straight Serie A win under Daniele De Rossi.

The capital club, who sacked former coach Jose Mourinho last month, moved back within one point of fourth-placed Atalanta in the Italian top flight table to boost their Champions League hopes.

De Rossi's only previous role as a head coach came at SPAL in Serie B.

Previous 2-1 wins over struggling Verona and bottom club Salernitana had steadied the ship, but this was an even better performance as Cagliari were blown away.

Lorenzo Pellegrini fired home the opener in only the second minute before teeing up Dybala for Roma's second goal midway through the first half.

Roma striker Romelu Lukaku had a goal ruled out for offside before a penalty awarded for Cagliari was overturned after a VAR review shortly before the break.

Roma were given a spot-kick for handball less than five minutes into the second period and Dybala stepped up to net his eighth league goal of the season.

Teenager Dean Huijsen headed in before the hour mark to add further gloss to the scoreline, and even another Lukaku effort being ruled out late on by the assistant's flag could not dampen a fine outing for Roma.