Roma lost to Lazio without Mourinho
The derby della Capitale, which is always tense, increased heat yesterday, because this is a confrontation for the top 4, when the distance between Lazio and Roma is only two points.
This match, Lazio are absent for main striker Ciro Immobile due to injury, Matias Vecino is suspended, while Ivan Provedel can play despite having flu symptoms. On the opposite side, Mourinho continues to be absent due to a ban on directing, Marash Kumbulla is suspended and Rick Karsdorp has a broken nose.
The derby was even, with chances for both teams, and the turning point came in the 32nd minute. Roger Ibanez missed the ball in midfield and stopped Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and received a second yellow card. The Lazio players clapped their hands to celebrate, while Roma reacted violently to this decision of referee Davide Massa.
This red card made the derby very hot at the end of the first half. In the 40th minute, Zaccagni and Gianluca Mancini jostled right in front of the Roma penalty area, causing players from both teams to argue with each other. Two minutes later, Pedro went to the touchline to get the ball into an explosive point, causing aggression from the coaches of both teams. The match was interrupted and the referee showed a red card to Lazio member Marco Ianni and Roma goalkeeping coach Nuno Santos.
In the second half, with the advantage, Lazio dominated and took the lead in the 65th minute. Felipe Anderson passed a touch for Zaccagni to cross down the left wing, penetrate the penalty area and put his heart in the far corner to beat goalkeeper Rui Patricio.
Exactly two minutes later, Roma put the ball into the net of Lazio. From Lorenzo Pellegrini's free kick, Mancini's header from close in is saved by Ivan Provedel. Chris Smalling kicks back and smashes Lazio midfielder Nicole Casale into the net. However, the goal was denied when the semi-automatic offside technology determined that Smalling was standing under the Lazio defence.
The derby was still very hot even after the final whistle, when Roma's Bryan Cristante and Lazio's Adam Marusic received red cards.
In the first leg in November 2022, Lazio also defeated Roma 1-0 thanks to Felipe Anderson. Lazio has won both derbies in a Serie A season for the first time since 2011-2012 under Edoardo Reja. At that time, Lazio won both legs with a score of 2-1.
The 1-0 victory helped Lazio rise to second with 52 points, 19 points behind Napoli at the top, while Roma stomped on fifth place with 47 points.
Coach Maurizio Sarri dedicated the victory to the fans, admitting that he was happy that the duo Mattia Zaccagni and Nicolo Casale were not called up to Italy to play Euro 2024 qualifiers later this month. He also stressed that he was not concerned about his colleague Mourinho being banned from directing in the derby della Capitale.
Meanwhile, centre-back Alessio Romagnoli mocked opponents: "I dreamed of debuting like this in a derby. There won't be a third derby this season, right? We know Roma will play that. and we played better than them. Keeping a clean sheet makes the win even more special."
On the opposite side, Roma members continued to not respond to the media both before and after the match. This is their move to protest Mourinho received a two-match ban from the Serie A organizers due to the controversy against Cremonese at the end of February.
