Never say never in a Derby and morover in a Derby bella Capitale. Roma came into the 153rd edition of the Roman stracittadina on Friday night as a favorite, towering over Lazio from the third place of the Serie A table, but ended up crushed by the Biancocelesti.
Simone Inzaghi’s band grabbed all the three points on offer delivering a humiliating 3-0 defeat to the Giallorossi, who paid a heavy toll for their defensive mistakes and especially for Roger Ibanez’s dreadful night. But even setting their defensive blunders aside, Roma never seemed able to give their opponents any cause for concern. It was just a bad night for them, one they should forget soon if they want to keep cultivating some Champions League ambitions.
Lazio, on the other hand, benefited of a sumptuous Luis Alberto’s performance – the Spaniard bagged a brace tonight – as well as a shimmering display on the part of wing-back Manuel Lazzari, who put his stamp on the first two goals for the Eagles. Before Luis Alberto’s double, Ciro Immobile’s “usual” goal had opened the scoring for the Biancocelesti.
? Mister #Inzaghi ha scelto l'undici per affrontare la @OfficialASRoma! #LazioRoma pic.twitter.com/CfvDBRlnnO
— S.S.Lazio (@OfficialSSLazio) January 15, 2021
There were high expectations on tonight’s derby as both coaches could pretty much lineup their best formations, except for the absence of Joaquin Correa on Lazio’s part and of Pedro for Roma. But both have been at bay since a few weeks already, so there were no last minute surprises in either lineup.
Roma seemed to be off to a good start but their delusion was short living. After Edin Dzeko failed to convert an inviting chance from close range, Lazio put their heads ahead from their very fist chance. From a Ciro Immobile long-range pass, Ibanez seemed ready to control the ball an clear it but somehow lost his momentum and let Manuel Lazzari snatch the ball out of his feet.
Lazzari’s service for Immobile set the incumbent Golden Boot free to shot and the number 17 made no mistake, bringing his seasonal scoring tally to 12 (3 behind capocannoniere Cristiano Ronaldo). On 13 minutes, it was 1-0 for Lazio.
Ten minutes later, Roger Ibanez messed up again, this time letting Lazzari dash past him and then knocking him down in the box to stop him. There could have been a penalty, but Lazzari was clever enough to stand up promptly and serve Luis Alberto, who whipped the ball into Pau Lopez’s bottom right corner.
Roma protested for an alleged Felipe Caicedo offside position, but referee Daniele Orsato didn’t want to hear it. The goal was allowed. The Giallorossi were shell-shocked and the only thing they could produce in the first half was a Henrikh Mhkitaryan volley that ended way out of the target.
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— AS Roma (@OfficialASRoma) January 15, 2021
Ecco la nostra formazione per #LazioRoma ?
DAJE ROMA DAJE!#ASRoma pic.twitter.com/WrkvwB9YhU
Paulo Fonseca needed something to change and after the restart he sent in the recovering Pedro to replace Jordan Veretout. But the pattern of the match didn’t change, with the Giallorossi incapable of producing anything noteworthy and Lazio dangerous again on multiple occasions: Pau Lopez had to deny first Ciro Immobile and then Sergej Milinkovic Savic to keep the score unchanged.
On 67 minutes, Lazio scored their third as Luis Alberto finished for the best from a Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro assist propitiated by another brilliant Manuel Lazzari suggestion. That was it. The derby was over, despite Fonseca trying to switch to a more offensive module by sending in Bruno Peres and Borja Mayoral for Gianluca Mancini and Leonardo Spinazzola.
Only on 85 minutes had Manuel Reina to do his first save of the night as he managed to block an Edin Dzeko shot from close range. It was a one-off occasion, as Lazio were pretty much in control until the very last minute of added time.
The Derby della Capitale thus ended in a Simone Inzaghi triumph. It seemed like the Biancocelesti coach had found back the magic formula that made Lazio a serious title contender before the Covid-19 break last season. For Roma and Paulo Fonseca, on the other hands, this was a brutal wake up call.
3️⃣ pic.twitter.com/NKDzHiYBA8
— S.S.Lazio (@OfficialSSLazio) January 15, 2021
MATCH REPORT
January 15, 2021 – Serie A 2020-21 Round 18
LAZIO-ROMA 3-0
SCORERS: 15′ Immobile, 23′ Luis Alberto, 67′ Luis Alberto
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LAZIO (3-5-2): Reina; Luiz Felipe (69′ Patric), Acerbi, Radu (83′ Hoedt); Lazzari, Milinkovic Savic, Lucas Leiva (65′ Escalante), Luis Alberto, Marusic, Caicedo (65′ st Akpa Akpro), Immobile (83′ Muriqi) (Alia, Furlanetto, Armini, Parolo, Lulic, Pereira, Correa) Coach: S. Inzaghi |
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ROMA (3-4-2-1): Pau Lopez; Mancini (72′ Borja Mayoral), Smalling, Ibanez; Karsdorp, Villar (60′ Cristante), Veretout, Spinazzola (71′ Bruno Peres); Pellegrini (46′ Pedro), Mkhitaryan; Dzeko (Fuzato, Farelli, Kumbulla, Fazio, Juan Jesus, Diawara, Podgoreanu, Carles Perez) Coach: Fonseca |
REFEREE: Mr. Orsato from Schio
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Milinkovic Savic, Radu, Acerbi, Luiz Felipe, Lucas Leiva (L), Mancini, Smalling, Pedro, Mkhitaryan (R); Extra Time: 1st Half 2′, 2nd Half 6′
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