In the opening match of Round 18 of Serie A, third-placed Roma took on their cross-city rivals Lazio in what was the first Derby della Capitale of the season.
Despite the difference in the league standings, Lazio secured an impressive and a fully deserved 3-0 win over their rivals thanks to three brilliant strikes. The Biancocelesti’s top scorer of the season Ciro Immobile gave his side the lead with an unstoppable strike into the top right corner, whilst Luis Alberto topped the night with two beautiful curling efforts.
Below we present our player ratings of the best and worst performers from the match.
Lazio XI
José Reina – 6.5
Lazio’s number one had a fairly quiet night with little to do. Reina faced 2 shots in this game and made 2 comfortable saves. Nevertheless, the Spaniard’s kicking was questionable at times, as he managed to give the ball away on a couple of occasions due to his poor distribution.
Luiz Felipe – 7.5
A superb performance from the Lazio center-back. The Brazilian was a solid presence at the back throughout the whole 90 minutes despite picking up a yellow card. Felipe won 6 out of 9 duels, made 3 clearances and 4 successful tackles (100% ratio).
Francesco Acerbi – 7
Although statistically, Acerbi was not as impressive as his counterpart, the Italian played an integral role in Lazio’s clean sheet. He made 6 clearances, 3 interceptions and completed 7 of his 9 long passes (78% accuracy).
Stefan Radu – 6.5
Lazio’s third center-back also showed a solid display tonight. The 34-year-old veteran did his business quietly but efficiently, helping his team to keep a so needed clean sheet. He made 2 interceptions and blocked one shot in this game.
Manuel Lazzari – 8
One of Lazio’s outstanding performers of the night. The 27-year-old right wing-back had a terrific game, destroying Roma’s left flank for the whole 90 minutes. The Italian got 2 assists, made 2 key passes, completed 4 dribbles, and won 9 out of 12 ground duels (75% success ratio). Lazzari also heavily contributed to Lazio’s first goal when he provoked a mistake from Ibanez by pressing him deep in his own penalty area.
Luis Alberto – 9
Undoubtedly our man of the match. The 28-year-old Spaniard had one of the best if not the best performances of the season tonight, scoring 2 absolutely brilliant goals. Additionally, he was a positive influence in Lazio’s midfield, usually breaking the lines and making the key first pass to unleash the counterattack.
Lucas Leiva – 6
A solid and hard work performance from the Brazilian veteran. Besides doing his dirty work protecting the back-line, Leiva also often dropped deep to support Lazio’s back three in the first phase of build-up and completed 87% of his passes (27/31).
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic – 6.5
Perhaps not the most convincing performance from the Serbian midfield giant, as he seemed less impactful on the offensive end, but nevertheless, he did not do much wrong despite picking up an early yellow card.
Adam Marusic – 6
The Montenegrin left wing-back was a lot less influential going forward than his counterpart on the opposite flank. Marusic was mostly preoccupied with his defensive duties, looking after Roma’s right wing-back Karsdorp who was getting forward with every opportunity.
Felipe Caicedo – 4.5
Despite a superb win, Caicedo failed to impress and was Lazio’s worst performer of the night. He had only 16 touches throughout the whole match, and even more worryingly, did not have a single attempt at goal. It seems that the 32-year-old Ecuadorian is better off as a super sub.
Ciro Immobile – 7
Yet another goal from Lazio’s captain. A super cool finish into the top corner, his 12th goal of this Serie A season. Undoubtedly, one of the most lethal finishers in the game.
Lazio Substitutes
Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro – 6.5
A positive influence off the bench as he collected a well-deserved assist.
Gonzalo Escalante – N/A
Patric – N/A
Wesley Hoedt – N/A
Vedat Muriqi – N/A
Roma XI
Pau Lopez – 6
The Spaniard could not do much for any of the goals and yet managed to make 5 decent saves. He also completed 92% of his passes (23/25).
Gianluca Mancini – 6
Despite conceding three goals, Mancini did not look out of place and could not really be blamed for any of them. The 24-year-old Italian made 5 interceptions, 3 successful tackles, and won 6 out of 9 duels (67% ratio).
Chris Smalling – 5.5
Roma’s most solid defender this season had a fairly decent game by his standards despite receiving a yellow card for a late challenge.
Roger Ibanez – 3.5
A night to forget for the 22-year-old Brazilian center-back. He was directly at fault for Lazio’s first goal and got outpaced by Lazzari in the build-up of the second. Ibanez made another mistake in the second-half and got nearly punished for the third time in the game. He was dribbled past 2 times, made a direct error that led to Lazio’s goal and won only 7 out of 17 duels (41% success ratio).
Rick Karsdorp – 5.5
Despite his high average position on the pitch, often finding himself deep in Lazio’s attacking third, Karsdorp did not influence the game much from the attacking sense. He completed only one cross and was well defended by Lazio’s left wing-back Marusic.
Gonzalo Villar – 5
The Spaniard offered little attacking impetus and creativity from midfield. He did not play a single key pass in this game and did not have one attempt at goal throughout the 90 minutes.
Jordan Veretout – 5
Villar’s colleague in central midfield was equally anonymous. The Frenchman completed 20 out of 23 passes (87%) but none of them did any damage to Lazio’s defence.
Leonardo Spinazzola – 5
The other of the two attacking wing-backs who could not really get going in this match. The 27-year-old Italian failed all 3 crosses and lost possession 14 times, making little impact in the offensive end.
Lorenzo Pellegrini – 5.5
Lots of effort but little end product. Pellegrini completed 4 dribbles throughout the 90 minutes but did not create a single scoring chance.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 4.5
Roma’s most creative player of the season has failed to deliver for the second game running. The Armenian playmaker did not create a single goal-scoring opportunity and did not even play a single key pass against Lazio.
Edin Dzeko – 4
Big strikers need big service and the Bosnian giant was well short of it tonight. Dzeko missed one big chance to make it 3-1 in the final minutes of the game but overall, it was another disappointing night for Roma’s skipper.
Roma Substitutes
Pedro – 4
Did not do much and received a yellow card.
Bryan Cristante – N/A
Bruno Peres – N/A
Borja Mayoral – N/A