Roma secure narrow derby triumph over Lazio to close in on Serie A top four
Roma got off to a blistering start, as Angelino saw his effort blocked, before Leandro Paredes came agonisingly close himself, via an attempt that eventually nestled on the roof of Christos Mandas’ net.
There was a relentless nature to proceedings both on the pitch and in the stands, and Lazio roared back, as Ciro Immobile fired into the side netting after Gustav Isaksen had stolen the ball in a dangerous position.
But Nicolo Casale also had to deny Diego Llorente twice at the other end, with his second block awkwardly deflecting the ball behind.
Both teams continued to chase an opener as the half-hour mark approached, with Lorenzo Pellegrini’s strike being spilled by Mandas before Angelino stopped Matias Vecino’s attempt.
The Spaniard then delivered an inviting cross for fellow full-back Zeki Celik, whose header bounced off the floor and over the crossbar.
Mario Gila had a near-miss when he turned Stephan El Shaarawy’s pass behind but there was no reprieve as Gianluca Mancini – who was given a vitamin booster to play through illness – bullishly met Paulo Dybala’s corner delivery to head past Mandas and inspire rapturous celebrations.
Igor Tudor responded with a triple change at HT, but the visitors looked disjointed, and it wasn’t long until he suffered another scare, when Pellegrini’s free-kick came agonisingly close to finding the top corner.
And El Shaarawy came even closer soon after that, racing up the pitch to latch onto Romelu Lukaku’s lay-off, but smashing his shot frustratingly against the near post.
Daichi Kamada then touched Matteo Guendouzi’s shot past Mile Svilar, which was ruled out for offside, but offered a reminder of how slender I Giallorossi’s lead was.
It wouldn’t be a Roman derby without some late shows of excess passion, and the temperature quickly rose with multiple confrontations playing out.
But Roma remained composed enough to secure victory and go a seventh consecutive Serie A game unbeaten, closing the gap on fourth-placed Bologna to two points for now.
Roma’s victory also comes with the added bonus of inflicting Igor Tudor’s first league defeat in charge of Lazio, leaving I Biancocelesti nine points behind their in-form rivals.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Gianluca Mancini (AS Roma)
