Lazio 3-2 Roma: Sarri’s side prevail in the Rome derby, Pedro on target | Serie A 2021-22

Pedro celebrates after scoring second SS Lazio goal against AS Roma
Pedro celebrates after scoring second SS Lazio goal against AS Roma - IMAGO / NurPhoto

Lazio managed to defeat arch-rivals Roma 3-2 in the capital derby.

Lazio had the last laugh in the capital derby after edging out Roma 2-0 in the weekend’s Serie A clash.

Roma had the advantage over the Biancocelesti due to the latter’s failure to pick up any wins in the last three league games.

However, Maurizio Sarri’s side proved us otherwise by putting on a dominant display in the first half, as they went 2-0 up in no time after goals from Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Pedro.

Roma pulled one back right before half-time through Brazilian defender Ibanez’s goal, and above all, they had some momentum flowing in their way.

Lazio appeared to have put the game beyond Giallorossi’s reach after scoring the third goal of the night courtesy of Felipe Anderson.

Roma were handed a lifeline once again after a controversial penalty went in their favour. Jordan Veretout made no mistake from the penalty spot and also halved the deficit once again.

However, Jose Mourinho’s men failed to find the equaliser as Lazio ended up grabbing all three points.

MilinkovicSavic continues to be a key player for Sarri

Milinkovic-Savic has established himself as one of the best midfielders in Serie A over the last few seasons and under Maurizio Sarri, the Serbian’s importance has been growing with each passing week. The Italian manager always favours a three-man midfield and encourages his interiors to play between the lines. Milinkovic-Savic is relishing his role as an advanced midfielder, and tonight he fired a powerful header to open the scoring for Lazio. Defensively, he is no slouch either, as he is one of the best box-to-box midfielders around.

Sarriball outsmarted Mourinho’s tactics

Sarri looked to have instilled his philosophy – the infamous Sarriball – to Biancocelesti after back to back huge wins against Empoli at the start of the season. However, the doubts arose after the former Chelsea gaffer failed to pick up a win in all of the four games that followed. Tonight, Mourinho had no answer to Lazio’s attacking style of play although the Portuguese gaffer had some fight left in the second half. Sarri should have breathed a sigh of relief after breaking the shackles on a big occasion like the Capital derby. 

Mourinho starting to lose momentum

The Portuguese gaffer had a dream start to his new job in Italy, helping Giallorossi to three consecutive wins including the last-minute thriller against Sassuolo, where he recreated the iconic touchline run celebration. But his first debacle came against Verona last week, and after tonight’s derby loss, Mourinho appears to be losing the momentum. Nonetheless, Roma have a great chance to return to the winning ways when they face Zorya Luhansk in the Conference League on Thursday.