Roma have moved a step closer to UEFA Champions League qualification after a 2-0 home win over Lazio in the Rome derby has taken them fourth in the Serie A table with one match to play, as Le Aquile\u2019s winless run over their rivals stretches to five games.
Making his Lazio debut in the Derby della Capitale was tough enough already for goalkeeper Alessio Furlanetto, before he was forced to prevent a Nuno Tavares own goal after the defender diverted Niccolo Pisilli’s free-kick goalwards nine minutes in.
That preceded a succession of Roma corners, which ended with Furlanetto clutching a deflected Wesley Franca strike. With the pressure averted, Lazio put together a well-worked attack midway through the half, but Mile Svilar was equal to a low curling effort from Matteo Cancellieri.
Boulaye Dia had the ball in the net for the designated visitors in the 29th minute, needing three bits of the cherry to score, though the offside call was a simple one for the officials.
I Biancocelesti kept knocking at the door, as Dia slipped the ball through to Tijjani Noslin, who struck across goal and narrowly wide, only for Roma to take the lead from another set piece.
Five minutes before the break, Pisilli delivered an inswinging corner that Gianluca Mancini connected with firmly with his head, giving Furlanetto no chance.
With European football next season beyond them, local bragging rights were the driving force behind Lazio’s positive start to the second half, as Noslin and Cancellieri produced near-identical efforts to those they had before the break.
It took until after the hour mark for Roma to come close to extending their lead, but a spectacular volley from Donyell Malen, batted down by the goalkeeper, was worth the wait, before Furlanetto had to tip a Paulo Dybala free-kick over the crossbar.
Dybala took the resulting corner, but despite the different supplier, the end result was the same, as Mancini climbed highest again and sent another header into the back of the Lazio net.
With just over 20 minutes remaining, tempers flared following a coming together between Mancini and Daniel Maldini, as several scuffles broke out.
Once the fracas died down, referee Fabio Maresca showed the red card to Franca and Nicolo Rovella, reducing both sides to 10 men.
Artem Dovbyk struck the post within seconds of coming on, which was the only real chance at either end in the latter stages, as Roma comfortably closed out a win that makes Gian Piero Gasperini just the second Giallorossi manager in 50 years to win his first two Rome derbies, while Maurizio Sarri’s side have lost successive league matches for just the second time all season.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Gianluca Mancini (Roma)
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