Less than four days following their Coppa Italia final heartbreak, Lazio suffered a fresh blow, succumbing to a Derby defeat to their arch-rivals, Roma.
Roma & Lazio Starting Lineups
Donyell Malen has been Roma’s ultimate star since his January arrival, so he unsurprisingly led Gian Piero Gasperini’s 3-4-2-1 formation, supported by Paulo Dybala and Niccolo Pisilli. In the middle of the park, Neil El Aynaoui combined with Bryan Cristiante, while Zeki Celik and Wesley occupied the wing-back slots. Gianluca Mancini, Evan Ndicka, and Mario Hermoso formed the backline.
On the opposite side of the pitch, Maurizio Sarri resorted to his third-choice goalkeeper Alessio Furlanetto due to the absence of the injured Ivan Provedel and Edoardo Motta. With Alessio Romagnoli serving a suspension, Oliver Provstgaard stepped up to join Mario Gila, Adam Marusic, and Nuno Tavares at the back.
Nicolo Rovella operated as a deep-lying playmaker between Toma Basic and Kenneth Taylor, while Tijjani Noslin filled in for the injured Mattia Zaccagni on the left wing. Matteo Cancellieri worked the opposite flank, and Boulaye Dia spearheaded the charge.
Mario Gila Comes Close for Lazio
Roma were the more proactive side in the early going, and Tavares almost gifted them an own goal, but Furlanetto did well to parry it away with a quick reaction. Wesley then tested the Lazio debutant with a deflected long-range effort, but it was too central to trouble the goalkeeper.
Afterwards, the Biancocelesti slowly but surely took the initiative. Matteo Cancellieri had a couple of attempts followed by a disallowed goal from Dia, who was clearly offside. Gila almost scored from a corner kick, but his close-range header whistled past the post, while Noslin’s low drive only just missed the target.
Gianluca Mancini Breaks the Deadlock for Roma
Against the run of play, Roma took the lead in the final stages of the first half. Pisilli sent a sublime cross to the middle of the box, and Mancini made a perfectly-timed run, got between Cancellieri and Gila and headed the ball past the helpless Furnaletto.
Hermoso almost doubled the Giallorossi’s lead before the break, but instead hit the side netting.
Mancini Bags a Brace
After the break, Lazio didn’t look like they believed in their chances of grabbing an equalizer. Instead, it was Roma that dominated the action, as they pushed for a second. Malen tested Furlanetto with a powerful shot, while Dybala’s free-kick was just over the bar.
Surprisingly, it was Mancini who delivered the goods again with an almost replicated header from the corner kick, this time converted by Dybala.
This second Roma goal completely took the wind out of Lazio’s sails. The Giallorossi came extremely close to scoring a third on serveral occasions through the likes of El Anyaoui, Stephan El-Shaarwy, and Artem Dovbyk, but a series of poor finishes and Furlanetto saves prevented a big score.
Nevertheless, this result still rounded off a disastrous week for the Biancocelesti, who have now lost their three outings across all competitions.