It’s the day of the Rome derby, a match the two sides from the capital come into in completely different moods. On one side are the Giallorossi, coming off four wins in five games and fully in the Champions League race.
On the other, a wounded Lazio after their defeat in the Coppa Italia final, arriving at the end of one of the most complicated seasons in recent years. For Sarri’s team, though, the derby is the last chance to give their fans something to cheer about in this bleak campaign.
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🔥 BACK UNDERWAY 🔥
🤬 Heads clash between Cancellieri and Hermoso!
The first signs of derby tension, with Hermoso and Cancellieri going face to face before both are booked.
Why? The Roma defender did not appreciate the challenge from Lazio’s No. 22, who couldn’t stop his momentum and ended up making contact with Svilar’s hands as he came out.
⚽️ Mancini puts Roma ahead!
Roma take the lead in the 40th minute! A chance very similar to the one Gila missed a few minutes earlier, with Pisilli’s corner finding Mancini right in the box.
The Roma defender’s header is perfect and gives Furlanetto no chance! Roma in front and, as things stand, firmly in the Champions League places.
🚑 Gasp loses Ndicka!
Bad news for Roma, because in the 35th minute Ndicka goes down clutching up. It’s a muscle problem for him, and he has to leave the pitch. Rensch comes on.
💥 Lazio dangerous again!
Lazio are definitely growing into the game, and in the 33rd minute they have the biggest chance of the match through Gila, who gets in front of everyone from a corner but sends it wide from close range!
Two minutes later Lazio go close again, this time through Noslin, who comes very close to putting them ahead! The Dutchman’s left-footed effort, however, goes wide. But Roma are really under pressure, just as news comes through of Fiorentina’s goal in Turin against Juventus.
⚽️❌ Dia scores, but he’s offside!
Lazio break the deadlock in the 29th minute through Dia, who gets on the end of a cross from Taylor and somehow beats Svilar after a couple of attempts.
Everything is brought back, though, because when the Dutchman played the pass, the Lazio forward was clearly offside.
🧤 Furlanetto prevents a possible own goal…
The first real chance of the derby comes in the 8th minute and — just like in the Coppa Italia — Lazio nearly hurt themselves.
Malen goes up for it, but it’s Nuno Tavares who makes contact with the ball and sends it toward the post of Furlanetto’s goal, forcing him into his first save in a Lazio shirt!
Then in the 23rd minute comes Lazio’s first shot on target, with Cancellieri testing Svilar from distance. The tempo has been slow so far.
🖼️ Beautiful Roma tifo!
The Lazio Curva Nord is not there, absent in protest against the ownership. On the other side, though, the Roma fans put on a beautiful display.
🤯 Sarri: "The league is incapable of managing Italian football"
Before the match, Maurizio Sarri spoke to DAZN, after comments he made earlier in the week had already caused controversy:
"Not showing up today? It was just a provocation, my opinion on the league, which is not managing a championship that is already struggling visually. Today was a day when a product could have been packaged that would have raised our profile in the eyes of the world, but instead an unappealing kickoff time was chosen. Too many experts in sports politics, but no experts in football."
👀 Giallorossi taunts over the final…
The derby atmosphere kicks in immediately thanks to the first banners mocking the outcome of the Coppa Italia final.
In fact, this morning a message aimed directly at Lazio appeared, clearly referring to the match lost against Inter due — also — to a Marusic own goal…
Lineups
ROMA (3-4-2-1): Svilar; Mancini, N'Dicka, Hermoso; Celik, Pisilli, El Aynaoui, Wesley; Cristante, Dybala; Malen.
LAZIO (4-3-3): Furlanetto; Marusic, Gila, Provstgaard, Nuno Tavares; Basic, Rovella, Taylor; Cancellieri, Dia, Noslin.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.
