Ibanez one of us
Game 27, Serie A
Sunday, March 19, 2023
Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Lazio Roma 1-0
Ibanez, Lazio’s undercover agent, does it again and is decisive in the Biancocelesti’s win in the derby. Great goal from Zaccagni.
The teams
Maurizio Sarri was forced to leave out Matias Vecino, suspended, and Ciro Immobile, injured, hence the three up front were the “light” forwards and Danilo Cataldi the playmaker. Ivan Provedel had a temperature on the eve of the match, but the fever had dropped by lunchtime so he was regularly in goal.
Jose Mourinho surprisingly put in Andrea Belotti instead of Tammy Abraham and had to leave Nemanja Matic on the bench since he had only just recovered from flu. All eyes on Roger Ibanez, his mistakes had already cost Roma two derbies.
The match
Lazio immediately took control of the game, Roma just stayed put behind defending with 9 players. As a consequence the possibility of finding gaps in the Giallorossi wall was very difficult.
The first major event was the booking of Ibanez in the 9th minute, for a foul on Felipe Anderson. At last a referee who acted on bookable offences in the first minutes of a match.
In the 18th minute the first half chance of the game came with a shot from outside the box from Georginio Wijnaldum which was only slightly high. A minute later Mattia Zaccagni went off on the left, ball in the box to Felipe Anderson who, after trying to get past a few Roma defenders, attempted a shot which however came out weak and was safely saved by Rui Patricio. Zaccagni in the 29th minute did it again but this time moved towards the centre and from outside the box shot. Rui Patricio parried.
The match changer arrived in the 32nd minute. Paulo Dybala from the right, in Lazio’s half, sent a long pass to Ibanez on the left but the Roma defender fumbled and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic intercepted. The Brazilian fouled the Serb and the referee booked him for the second time. Roma down to ten men.
In the 37th minute Zaccagni crossed for Milinkovic-Savic outside the box. The Serb saw a gap and tried a difficult scissor-kick. Wide.
Towards the end of the first half, mass confrontation between the two benches and Davide Massa sent off two members of staff.
Second half
Roma sent in Diego Llorente for Dybala in the interval. Sarri told the team to be patient. “A gap is bound to open up”, he said in the changing rooms.
Without their most important player, Roma fell back even further at the beginning of the second half. Lazio patiently passed the ball around in the hope of finding an opening. In the 53rd minute Luis Alberto went for the big shot from outside the box, Rui Patricio tipped the ball over into corner, not without considerable difficulty. Luis Alberto tried another couple of times but the first went out and the second was walled. In the 62nd minute Felipe Anderson to Pedro who ran into the box on the right and from an impossible angle shot. The Roma goalkeeper sent the ball into corner. The subsequent corner saw Luis Alberto crossing the ball which bounced off Chris Smalling and reached s Felipe Anderson right in front of the goalkeeper. The Brazilian immediately volleyed towards goal but right in Rui Patricio's face. The linesman lifted his flag up for offside, but had Felipetto scored VAR would have given the goal.
In the 64th minute Elseid Hysaj on the left passed to Luis Alberto who immediately gave it to Felipe Anderson. Chip to Zaccagni who found the gap and ran towards the Roma goal. His shot was low and precise, Rui Patricio saw the ball go into the net. 1-0 for Lazio.
In the 67th minute Roma had a free kick on the left. Lorenzo Pellegrini sent the ball in, Gianluca Mancini’s header was saved by Provedel. The ball was going into corner but Smalling sent it back and Nicolò Casale scored in his own goal. Despair for Lazio fans, but after a VAR review the English defender was judged to be offside so the goal was disallowed.
Roma woke up and got a little more determined, but Lazio were in complete control and tried to put the game to sleep. The Giallorossi tried to put on some pressure and in the 77th minute a Leonardo Spinazzola cross was parried into corner by Provedel.
Roma though were totally incapable of creating anything else, Lazio win the second derby of the season as well for the first time since 2011 (a double 2-1) and for the first time since 1972-73 managed to win both without conceding a goal.
The aftermath
At the end of the contest there was a massive confrontation on the pitch between the players and Massa sent off Adam Marusic and Bryan Cristante. However Mancini should also have been shown a red card for hitting Marusic.
Strong words were also said in the tunnel (“the Roma players always talk before the match. You must never talk because if you do and you lose … “ said Luis Alberto) and near the changing rooms where President Claudio Lotito and Mourinho had a verbal clash.
A note on Roma
In 1997 after seven minutes Giuseppe Favalli got (too harshly) sent off in a derby. Sven Goran Eriksson, present at today's game, thought that the probability that Roma would score was then a lot higher so there was no point in taking off a forward and reducing Lazio’s chances of scoring. He thus substituted a midfield player. Lazio won 3-1.
Mourinho’s decision to take off Dybala meant that after Lazio scored, Roma did not have the necessary power nor talent to create chances. A dismal performance was hence made even worse. I am sure Sven would have been pleased to give Jose a quick tactical lesson.
Lazio’s undercover agent
It is now the third time Ibanez does us a favour. Long live Ibanez!!!
Who played for Lazio
Provedel, Marusic, Casale, Romagnoli, Hysaj, Milinkovic-Savic, Cataldi, Luis Alberto, Pedro (88' Basic), Felipe Anderson, Zaccagni (81' Cancellieri)
Substitutes: Maximiano, Adamonis, Magro, Gila, Patric, Lazzari, Radu, Fares, Floriani, Pellegrini, Marcos Antonio, Immobile, Romero
Manager: Sarri
Who played for Roma
Rui Patricio, Mancini, Smalling, Ibanez, Zalewski, Cristante, Wijnaldum (67' Matic), Spinazzola, Pellegrini (84' Solbakken), Dybala (46' Llorente, 78' El Shaarawy)
Substitutes: Svilar, Boer, Celik, Camara, Bove, Volpato, Tahirovic
Manager: Mourinho (Foti was on the bench because Mourinho was suspended)
Referee: Massa
Goal: 64' Zaccagni
Bookings: Ibanez, Luis Alberto, Romagnoli, Cristante, Mancini, Cancellieri, Basic
Sent off: Ibanez, Marusic, Cristante
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