Lazio-Roma: Sarri rules an electric derby
And he deserved to win.
Who would have thought. Sarris Lazio be able ruling an electric derby based almost entirely on provocations, on thrusts, yellows, fouls and reds – crucial was that of Ibanez (now the idol of the North, who devoted more than a chorus to him) in addressing a game that seemed Also hanging alongside Lazio in 11v11 for attacking attitude and dominating the field. In that sense, Mou’s absence on the bench is making itself felt. At games like thisHaving or not having , the demiurge of chaos, the ruler of entropy really changes everything. Also because there was a strange atmosphere in Rome yesterday. There was that stillness that precedes the muffled noise of house-to-house fighting, the acrid smell of smoke bombs was in the air and the impatience of a city about to implode.
There was, to put it another way, A TRUE Derby climate.
Sarri, coach of the field and not the psyche, has shown that he has grown in this regard as well. He respectfully avoided the comparison made to him in DAZN with Maestrelli (one of his references on the bench) and humbly declared the only desire to penetrate the hearts of the people of Lazio. How slowly she gets to know, understand and love him. Also because Sarri, rough as you like, knows how to shape a team to your liking. Lazio never lost their nerve yesterday. He played his game knowing he had more quality in midfield and down the wing, with an obsessed Zaccagni (scorer) alongside Mancini and Zalewski (can’t stop his spin).
However, it is good to talk about tactics and technique up to a point. The real number from yesterday’s derby was in the post-match statements Romagna people And Luis Albertoalmost to answer this by Mourinho and Pellegrini from a few hours earlier. We had said it: Roma’s Conference League win – with Zaniolo annexed as head-ultra to sing choruses straight at Zaccagni: how things change in a short period of time – had reignited a rivalry that existed but had died down in recent years. Of course: yesterday’s derby, like that of Yanga Mbiwa (2015) and Lulic (2013), was worthy of Europe and that certainly added spice to an already iconic game.
To return to football as played (assuming it can be separated from the football lived) there are still 12 games to complete. But the speech is now more for the Giallorossi – ahead of their cousins - than the Biancocelesti. In fact, Lazio will only have one game a week until the end, a significant number as Sarri recalled in the post-match against Bologna – when he stressed his players must remain in the conference given the derby. It may be that this election was provincial, but it can also be so at the same time Sarri has recognized – beyond the importance of the derby in this city – of how the European prestige must not neglect the construction of a credible project and only conceivable through the income from the Champions League.
Aware of the importance of the game, Lazio honored it from 1′ to 99′ by playing in a mature manner. Without ever losing the distance between departments, beating your head over the game, malice and quality a team capable of reaching the quarter-finals of a European competition for the third consecutive year – In 2018 she even reached the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Today, Mourinho’s Roma don’t lack the hunger to finish a competition, they lack the quality to go head-to-head against two – that reminds us of something. Although the range of squads and solutions available to the Portuguese are greater than those Sarri has at Lazio, Roma are by no means superior to the Biancocelesti in the starting XI – in the author’s opinion. Especially in midfield, where Milinkovic Savic and Luis Albertodespite a season complicated for both from different points of view, they offer a rare quality of dribbling, intensity and tactical intelligence – perhaps unique to Serie A.
For that reason, but not only that, it appeared to us The decision to leave Paulo Dybala is incomprehensible – certainly not tangible up to this moment – at the end of the first half. In such a blocked, nervous, incomprehensible game, having that left-hander on the pitch or not changes everything. Mourinho has opted to keep Pellegrini in the field – also missed yesterday as it had been for too long – replacing Argentina’s Diego Llorente. He defended, conceded goals and ended up using El Shaarawy in place of the former Leeds.
But apart from a few circumstances – including the goal disallowed for offside immediately after Zaccagnis’ 1-0 lead – Roma never really threatened. The best news for the Giallorossi – who also lost Cristante by being sent off in the final while Mancini was suspended and suspended for the next game – is undoubtedly this Support from the Curva Sud, who sang about love for 99 minutes. Especially when with 6 minutes left the hopes of a comeback were slim. This is how the Roma fans reacted to a stadium painted with white and blue flags, with the Curva Nord even quoting Shakespeare (Henry V, speech of San Crispino) at the beginning of the competition with a spectacular scenography and choreography. Almost a prophecy about the outcome of the game.
