Lazio demonstrate how to reach nirvana

Simon Basten

Nov 7, 2022

4 min read

Updated: 5 days ago

2022-23 Season

Game 13, Serie A

Sunday, November 6, 2022

Previous Match Next

Rome, Stadio Olimpico

Roma Lazio 0-1

Felipe Anderson gives Lazio a deserved win as Roma show their limits

The teams

Maurizio Sarri was not able to play Ciro Immobile, who was on the bench but injured, nor Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, suspended, and although Luis Alberto was not 100% fit Lazio desperately needed his quality, so in came the Spaniard. The rest of the line up was as predicted. Despite what José Mourinho had claimed after their game in Europe during the week, Roma were by many considered to be favourites that day, which was paradoxically one of the worst things that could happen before a derby since it always brought bad luck!!!

The match

Roma started very well and had a couple of half chances within the first five minutes. In the second Tammy Abraham’s shot was weak and comfortably saved by Ivan Provedel and in the fifth Nicolò Zaniolo’s attempt from outside the box was well wide.

That was it for half an hour. When Lazio had control of the ball they could not find a gap to send one of their forwards in, when Roma had control they really did not know what to do with it. Lazio were defensively tight and the Alessio Romagnoli and Nicolò Casale duo were a brick wall.

The game changed in the 29th minute. Roger Ibanez, in his penalty box, decided he was going to dribble past Pedro and go solo, forgetting he did not possess the skills to do so. He loset the ball, Pedro to Felipe Anderson all alone in front of Rui Patricio, 1-0 for Lazio.

Roma supporters could not believe it. It was the second time Ibanez had made decisive mistakes in a derby. A Lazio player undercover perhaps?

The Giallorossi tried to regroup and four minutes after the goal Zaniolo had their biggest chance of the game. The ball casually got to him and he shot towards goal as soon as he could. The shot was deflected by Romagnoli and became a dangerous lob that hit the crossbar and bounced back into play.

Then nothing much happened. Lazio tried to slow the game down, Roma were incapable of creating anything. Pedro’s shot in the first minute of injury time was comfortably saved by the Roma goalkeeper.

Second half

During the interval Zeki Celik replaced Gianluca Mancini who had been booked early in the first half.

The second half script was more or less the same as the first even though Roma had a lot more possession. This increased control of the ball however was to no avail and the Giallorossi were hardly ever dangerous. In the 52nd minute Chris Smalling headed the ball out from a corner (but there was a probable foul on Adam Marusic). Two minutes later Lorenzo Pellegrini was forced off due to injury and was substituted by youngster Cristian Volpato.

The Roma players on the wing were incapable of putting a decent cross in the box and Mourinho threw in Stephan El Shaarawy for Karsdorp in the 63rd minute.

In the 67th minute Zaniolo went into the box on the left surrounded by Lazio players but somehow managed to reach Provedel. The duel was won by the Lazio goalkeeper.

Sarri too maked some changes a minute later: in came Matteo Cancellieri and Elseid Hysaj for Pedro and Manuel Lazzari, and immediately afterwards Toma Basic replaced an injured Luis Alberto.

In the 72nd minute Lazio could have been two up. Quick counter attack by Cancellieri who once in the Roma penalty area was surrounded by Roma defenders. He saw Felipe Anderson outside the box ready for the kill. Ball to Felipetto, great shot, great save by Rui Patricio.

Two more substitutions for Roma in the 73rd minute: Andrea Belotti and Nemanja Matic substituted Nicola Zalewski and Mady Camara. In the 85th Luca Romero made his seasonal Serie A debut and Zaccagni took a rest.

Two minutes later there was a Stefan Radu masterpiece. The Romanian, from the bench, prevented Rui Patricio from taking a quick throw in. This generated a massive confrontation between the players. More time wasted. The two were booked. Not very “sportivo”, but we’ve seen far worse from the other side over the years so it wasa pleasure to see them on the receiving end of the stick for once.

In the eight minutes of injury time Smalling continued to send in long balls for the Roma forwards but Lazio’s defensive wall never crumbled. The interesting fact was that it was actually the player with the best aerial abilities on the pitch sending in these balls. It would have been a lot more useful to Roma had Smalling been the target of these high crosses.

Lazio won. The Biancocelesti did not do much to win it but then the Giallorossi did nothing to fight back.

Who played for Roma

Rui Patricio, Mancini (46' Celik), Smalling, Ibanez, Karsdorp (63' El Shaarawy), Cristante, Camara (73' Matic), Zalewski (73' Belotti), Zaniolo, Pellegrini (53' Volpato), Abraham

Substitutes: Boer, Svilar, Shomurodov, Vina, Kumbulla, Bove, Tripi, Tahirovic, Cherubini, Faticanti

Manager: Mourinho

Who played for Lazio

Provedel, Lazzari (68' Hysaj), Casale, Romagnoli, Marusic, Vecino, Cataldi, Luis Alberto (71' Basic), Pedro (68' Cancellieri), Felipe Anderson, Zaccagni (84' Romero)