De Rossi's memorable 500th goal

Daniele De Rossi marked his 500th appearance for Roma with a goal in his team's 3-1 win over Empoli on Saturday as Rudi Garcia's side moved into second place in Serie A.

The 32-year-old De Rossi found the target in the 59th minute after Miralem Pjanic had hit the opener with a superb direct free-kick three minutes earlier.

The Bosnian also played a key role in De Rossi's goal when his corner was headed home by the midfield veteran.

Roma, playing without the injured Francesco Totti and Edin Dzeko, were 3-0 to the good in the 69th minute when Mohamed Salah found the net after being set up by Gervinho.

Empoli pulled a goal back through Austrian international Marcel Buechel in the 70th minute but the three points for Roma will be a huge boost ahead of their Champions League clash at Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday.

The win took Roma into second spot in the table, one point behind leaders Fiorentina.