Posted by In the 154th Derby della Capitale, bitter rivals Roma and Lazio played out a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Olimpico. Here are my three points from the match:
1) Ünder Shows His Worth
What a difference a year makes for the flying Turkish winger Cengiz Ünder. Last winter, the 22-year-old was linked with Premier League giants Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea after a season-and-a-half of strong form with Roma. However, a move never materialized, in part because of muscle issues that kept him out through much of January, February, and March 2019. Nevertheless, Ünder improved his productivity in his second season in the Italian capital, registering 6 goals and 9 assists compared to 8 goals and 2 assists in his first campaign.
Coming into this season, Ünder would have expected to be a key part of new coach Paulo Fonseca’s starting 11. However, things haven’t gone to plan. The Turkey international missed most of September and October with a hamstring injury, and only started one Serie A match between rounds 10 and 18 as he worked his way back to full fitness. Ünder’s peripheral role even led to rumors of a move to AC Milan.
Yet, a mooted swap deal for underperforming Milan midfielder Suso seemed ill advised for Roma considering Ünder’s enormous potential. The Turk confirmed that theory here on his third consecutive start, giving Lazio captain and left wing-back Senad Lulić a torrid time all afternoon. Ünder nearly scored in the 28th minute, after a rapid counterattack with Eden Džeko allowed the winger to cut inside onto his favored left foot, but his low drive was blocked miraculously by Biancocelesti center-back Francesco Acerbi. Ünder turned provider for Džeko ten minutes later, playing a precise through ball from the right touchline that split the visiting defense, only for Acerbi to thwart Džeko’s right-footed attempt at the last moment.
Ünder’s influence grew in the second half, and he produced the two moments of real quality in the match. First, he chested down a cross-field pass from Justin Kluivert in the 49th minute before executing a perfect Cryuff turn past Lulić as the ball reached the ground. As he moved inside, Ünder cut the Lazio defense open with a millimetric through ball that took out Acerbi and halftime substitute Patric. A penalty was initially called on the Spanish defender for a trip on Kluivert, who had been racing onto the pass. However, a VAR review deemed the contact to be accidental, and the call was reversed.
With the second half nearing its conclusion, Ünder nearly found the winner in a tightly contested Derby della Capitale. He breezed outside Lulić before cutting inside Lucas Leiva and performing a perfect “croqueta” past Marco Parolo to get to the edge of the box. Ünder’s subsequent shot was blocked, but the rebound caused panic in the Lazio backline and forced a point-blank save from Thomas Strakosha on Džeko. Although Ünder’s performance did not lead to the goal or assist it merited, Lulić will have nightmares about the pacy winger. Furthermore, Fonseca and the Roma directors would be crazy to let Ünder go after what he did in the derby.
2) Goalkeepers Take Center Stage For All The Wrong Reasons
These Rome rivals came into the match as two of the best defensive sides in the division. Lazio had the 2nd-best defense with only 18 goals conceded, while Roma sat 5th with 23 goals allowed after having the 10th-best defense last year.
Throughout the season, Roma goalkeeper Pau López and Lazio netminder Thomas Strakosha had been crucial to their teams’ defensive solidity. Signed from Real Betis in the summer for 23.5 million euros, Spanish goalkeeper López is a huge improvement on Sweden keeper Robin Olsen, who was loaned out to Cagliari this summer after an underwhelming debut campaign for the Giallorossi. Meanwhile, Strakosha was demonstrating why teams like Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal had shown interest in him in recent years.
Given the unquestionable pedigree of both goalkeepers, few would have expected them to be at fault for the two goals. First, Strakosha needlessly came off his line in the 26th minute to clear a lofted Bryan Cristante pass. The Albanian missed his punch completely, allowing Džeko to loop a header in off the post from just outside the penalty spot.
López joined the calamity club less than ten minutes later, with two massive errors in the space of mere seconds facilitating one of the most bizarre goals seen anywhere in Europe this season. Roma right-back Davide Santon failed to clear his lines with a poor defensive header from a harmless Luis Alberto delivery. Nevertheless, the ball seemed to be going over the byline for another corner when López inexplicably intervened, punching the ball back towards his own goal. The Spaniard then whiffed on his second punch from just under the crossbar, which dropped kindly at the feet of an incredulous Acerbi to tap in for the equalizer.
After providing a season’s worth of comic goalkeeping moments within just a few minutes, Strakosha almost one-upped López midway through the second half, with another defective punch that nearly gifted Džeko a goal. Ultimately, both keepers will feel fortunate that their respective errors did not cost their team the game. A point for both sides will allow these two talented netminders to move on from their worst performances of the season.
3) Lazio Streak Broken But Valuable Point Gained
When he took over as Lazio manager on an interim basis in April 2016, Simone Inzaghi was better known as the younger brother of legendary Italian striker Filippo “Pippo” Inzaghi. Although Simone carved out a respectable professional career as a striker for Lazio and other Italian sides, he was firmly in the shadow of his older brother when he took over the Biancocelesti.
After guiding Lazio to consecutive 5th-placed finishes in his first two seasons before lifting the Coppa Italia in 2018/19, Inzaghi has established himself as one of the best coaches in Italy. Yet, few expected Lazio to reach even the Champions League places this campaign. Incredibly, Inzaghi has Lazio fans dreaming of the club’s first Serie A title since 1999-00, with the Eagles only 5 points behind leaders Juventus with a game in hand.
Lazio came into the derby on the back of an 11 game winning streak in Serie A, the longest in their history. They hadn’t lost a league match since late September, and the confidence gained from that record run was crucial on Sunday. The Eagles were outplayed for much of the match, with Roma dominating possession and territory. The high press employed by Fonseca forced repeated Lazio giveaways in their own third of the pitch, as they struggled to create space on the counterattack. However, they evened affairs in the second half, nullifying the threat of Kluivert’s runs inside from the left and closing down spaces in the final third. They even had a chance to win the match late on, with a skimming Sergej Milinković-Savić effort going just wide of the post in the 89th minute.
Ultimately, Lazio will be happy with a point after going down a goal following Strakosha’s howler. They will take encouragement from the result considering that their two best players, forward Ciro Immobile and Milinković-Savić, were peripheral figures for most of the match. Juventus’ 2-1 loss at Napoli in the late game on Sunday leaves the door open for Lazio, who saw 2nd-placed Inter draw their 5th match in their last 7 earlier in the day against Cagliari. If Lazio are still within striking distance of Juventus by the time the two sides meet in Turin on April 26, the Eagles will fancy their chances. Before Napoli’s victory, Lazio were the only side to beat Juve all season. Remarkably, they have done it twice, with a 3-1 league win at the Stadio Olimpico in December followed by a 3-1 win the Italian Super Cup a few weeks later. In what is already a dream season for Lazio fans, the result here will reaffirm the belief that that they can record a third victory over La Vecchia Signora on their way to a shock Serie A title.
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