All good things come to an end. And in Lazio’s case, it was their 11-game winning streak in the Serie A that finally concluded against AS Roma on Sunday.
Lazio looked overmatched during most of the contest and could have easily lost, but they settled for a 1-1 draw against their bitter rivals at Stadio Olimpico. Edin Dzeko netted for Roma, and Francesco Acerbi found the back of the net for the ‘visiting’ side.
Roma started the game better and always seemed to be in control of the contest. They had to wait until the midpoint of the first half to fire the opening goal, though. A perfect cross from Bryan Cristante found Dzeko, and the Bosnia international nodded the ball home past Tomas Strakosha to lift Roma up 1-0.
Lazio struggled to react, and it seemed the only they could score was due to a mistake from the opposing defence… and that’s exactly what happened. A glaring mistake from goalkeeper Pau Lopez, who couldn’t punch a cross away following a corner kick, allowed Acerbi to even things up in the 34th minute. The first half ended with a 1-1 draw, but it was clear Roma should’ve gone on top at the break.
Roma could have added another goal in the 51st minute when Patric committed a foul inside the box and referee Gianpaolo Calvarese. However, he later reversed his decision following a check with the VAR. Roma felt stunned as the penalty should have been called.
Jordan Veretout and Dzeko were arguably Roma’s most productive players. The Bosnia international had at least three clear scoring chances to add another goal, but either his inaccuracy or Strakosha’s impressive performance prevented Roma from adding another goal to their tally.
Lazio only had one chance in the second half, but it was a clear one. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic tested Lopez from outside the box and his effort came just wide off the post. Neither side grabbed the winning goal, however, and as a result, things ended with a 1-1 draw at Stadio Olimpico.
With the draw, Lazio remains in third place of the standings with 46 points while Roma is fourth with 39. But it’s clear Roma deserved better luck based on how things unfolded.
Match Report
AS Roma: Pau Lopez (4); Santon (6) (Kolarov (-), 83’), Mancini (5), Smalling (7), Spinazzola (6); Veretout (7) (Pastore (-), 89’), Cristante (7); Under (6), Pellegrini (6), Kluivert (6) (Perotti (-), 81’); Dzeko (8)
Lazio: Strakosha (6); Luiz Felipe (6) (Patric (5), 46’), Acerbi (7), Radu (6); Lazzari (5), Milinkovic-Savic (5), Lucas Leiva (6), Luis Alberto (6) (Parolo (5), 71’), Lulic (4); Correa (5) (Caicedo (-), 76’), Immobile (6)
Goals: Dzeko (1-0, 26’), Acerbi (1-1, 34’)
Referee: Gianpaolo Calvarese
Yellow Cards: Dzeko, Kolarov (ROM); Luiz Felipe, Milinkovic-Savic, Lulic, Immobile (LAZ)
Red Cards: None
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