The race for the Champions League in Serie A remains open and highly exciting. Roma missed out on big points in the Derby della Capitale, but at least extended their impressive streak after falling behind.
The question before Sunday evening’s eagerly awaited game at the Olimpico was whether Roma’s impressive run would be ended in the Derby della Capitale. The Giallorossi had not been beaten in 15 league games and were keen to continue their push towards a European place.
Claudio Ranieri’s team also had significantly more recovery time after the 1-1 draw against Juventus. Lazio, meanwhile, had played their quarter-final first leg in the Europa League in Norway against FK Bodö/Glimt on Thursday – and lost 2-0.
Marco Baroni had obviously grabbed his team by the scruff of the neck, though. Lazio made a strong impression and were the much more dangerous team in the first half. The sky blues should have taken the lead in the sixth minute, but Svilar saved Romagnoli’s shot with a monster save.
While Roma were a complete disappointment in offense, Isaksen came close twice, but Svilar won each one-on-one duel (22′, 37′). But immediately after the break, Lazio finally got the reward they deserved: Pellegrini’s free-kick was headed powerfully into the left corner from close range by Romagnoli (47′). It was the 30-year-old’s fourth competitive goal since the beginning of March.
But the deficit “ignited” Roma: the Giallorossi created their first power play. Mandas just managed to scrape a header from Mancini out of the corner (54′), Celik failed to capitalize on a promising opportunity (64′).
Pedro and Dia miss reply
On the opposite side, it was former Herthaner Guendouzi and Zaccagni who came close to scoring (60′, 65′). However, Lazio had not taken their chances consistently in this game, and so the equalizer fell: Soulé flicked the ball beautifully from a central position onto the lower edge of the crossbar, from where the ball went over the line.
However, Lazio were not satisfied with the draw and had good chances through Pedro and Dia (75′, 76′). In injury time, substitute Noslin missed the lucky punch (90.+1). So it should ultimately remain at 1:1, through which Roma extended their streak to 16 games without defeat, but in the end is treading water. Champions League rank 4 is now five instead of four points away.
Lazio, who at least defended 6th place, must quickly pull themselves together to start their chase against Bodö/Glimt on Thursday (9 p.m.). Roma then host Hellas Verona on Saturday.
