Roma have moved a step closer to UEFA Champions League qualification after a 2-0 victory over Lazio in the Rome derby at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday, a result that lifts them into fourth place in the Serie A table with one game remaining and extends Lazio’s winless run in the fixture to five matches.
The derby began at a frantic pace, with Lazio goalkeeper Alessio Furlanetto enduring a difficult debut in the Derby della Capitale.
He was almost undone early on when he was forced into action to prevent a Nuno Tavares own goal after the defender inadvertently turned Niccolò Pisilli’s ninth-minute free-kick toward goal.
Roma immediately piled on the pressure, winning a series of corners that kept Lazio pinned back, while Furlanetto also had to deal with a deflected Wesley França effort.
Lazio eventually settled and carved out a promising opening midway through the half, but Mile Svilar reacted well to keep out Matteo Cancellieri’s low curling attempt.
Boulaye Dia briefly thought he had given Lazio the lead in the 29th minute after a scramble in the box, but the offside flag correctly denied him.
The visitors continued to threaten, with Dia then releasing Tijjani Noslin, whose angled strike drifted just wide.
Roma, however, struck first from a set piece. Five minutes before half-time, Pisilli’s inswinging corner found Gianluca Mancini, who rose highest to power a header beyond Furlanetto and give the hosts the lead.
Lazio responded strongly after the break despite their limited European prospects, with Noslin and Matteo Cancellieri both going close with efforts similar to their first-half chances.
Roma, though, nearly doubled their advantage just after the hour mark when a stunning volley from Donyell Malen was well saved, before Paulo Dybala forced Furlanetto into another save from a curling free-kick.
From the resulting corner, Dybala’s delivery again caused problems, and Mancini struck once more, rising above the defence to head home his second of the afternoon and Roma’s second goal.
Tensions boiled over with just over 20 minutes left when a confrontation involving Mancini and Daniel Maldini sparked a mass scuffle.
After order was restored, referee Fabio Maresca issued red cards to França and Nicolò Rovella, reducing both sides to 10 men.
Artem Dovbyk later hit the post shortly after coming on, but Roma saw out the closing stages comfortably to secure a crucial derby win.
The result also sees Gian Piero Gasperini become only the second Roma manager in the last 50 years to win his first two Derby della Capitale matches, while Maurizio Sarri’s Lazio side suffer back-to-back league defeats for just the second time this season.
