Lazio 1-1 Roma: All square in lively derby

The Rome derby is always a game that is going to lead to tempers flaring, and as always, we saw that come to fruition in a big way this evening. Both Lazio and Roma seemingly have a point to prove this season, with neither really living up to the kind of expectations they consistently set for themselves in the last few years. In this game, in particular, you could argue that neither will be happy after they both failed to come away with all three points from the tie.

Entertaining as ever

All different forms of logic dictated that this was going to be a pretty intriguing clash, and a physical one at that. In the end that’s exactly what we got, and it’ll be interesting to see how both teams shape themselves up for the remainder of the Serie A season as a result. There’s no particularly realistic ambition from either to go after the title, given that Juventus are the clear favourites with Napoli and Inter Milan arguably being their nearest challengers.

Just after the 15 minute mark it was the visitors that were able to take the lead, with Aleksandar Kolarov giving them the advantage from the penalty spot. The veteran defender scored after a frantic start to the game with the woodwork being hit five times, with Lazio striking it three times and Roma twice – indicating, as we suspected, that this was going to be one that fans would remember.

Making moves

Luis Alberto provided Lazio with the equaliser they so desperately needed early on in the second half, and from that point on, it certainly seemed as if the hosts were going to be the ones that wound up going on to win the game. In the end, it just wasn’t to be.

After the international break Lazio will travel to take on SPAL as they attempt to build on their positive start to the season. Roma, on the other hand, will turn their attention towards what should be an entertaining clash with Sassuolo. Given that they were probably fortunate to come away with a point, they’ll be left counting their blessings.

Match Report

Lazio: Strakosha (6), Radu (7), Acerbi (6.5), Felipe (6), Lulic (7.5), Alberto (8), Leiva (7), Milinkovic-Savic (7.5), Lazzari (6), Immobile (7), Correa (7), Jony (6), Parolo (6.5), Bastos (6.5)

Roma: Lopez (7.5), Florenzi (7), Mancini (7), Fazio (6.5), Kolarov (7.5), Cristante (6.5), Pellegrini (7), Under (6.5), Zaniolo (7), Kluivert (6.5), Dzeko (6.5), Santon (6), Diawara (6), Pastore (6)

Referee: Marco Guida

Goals: Alberto :: Kolarov pen

Yellow Cards: Felipe, Zaniolo, Immobile, Radu, Florenzi, Acerbi, Santon

Red Cards: N/A