🇮🇹 Serie A spotlight: Rome turns blue as Sarri silences Mourinho | OneFootball

Is there a fiery fixture that delivers as much drama consistently as the Derby della Capitale seems to?

The action, controversy and memorable moments seem like they never end when Roma take on Lazio and last weekend’s fixture was no different.

This fixture already whets the appetite but when you add in the combustible elements of a José Mourinho side taking on Maurizio Sarri, it adds extra fuel to a fire that burned brightly in the Eternal City.

And it was the Italian who got the better of it, guiding his side to a deserved 3-2 victory and gaining himself instant heroic status among the Laziali.

Of course, that was helped by him providing the most iconic derby image since Francesco Totti’s selfie celebration when he held aloft the club’s Olimpia eagle mascot in victory following the full-time whistle.

After Sergej Milinkovic-Savić’s brave headed opener, it was two summer signings in the man recruited from Roma, Pedro, and the returning Felipe Anderson who netted the crucial goals for the Aquile.

With his neat finish from the edge of the area, the Spaniard became only the third player ever to score for both sides in this fixture after Arne Selmonsson and Aleksandar Kolarov.

Too often, they exposed Roma with simple passes through midfield which left their attacking players, Ciro Immobile in particular, in far too much space to cause problems, which he did with unselfish passes for each of the last two goals.

Anyone who wants to label the oft-maligned Italy international as a static, penalty-box predator take note of this performance as his movement and running from deep saw him notch multiple assists in a Serie A game for just the second time in his career.

But it wouldn’t be a big game loss for Mourinho without some controversy afterwards, which Nicolò Zaniolo also courted with an uncomplimentary gesture to the Lazio fans, as he vented his ire at the officials for the Giallorossi’s loss which saw him become the first Roma coach since Luis Enrique a decade ago to lose his first derby.

“Italian football has improved a lot but unfortunately the referee and VAR weren’t at the level required for this fantastic occasion,” he told DAZN.

“For the 2-0 goal, it should have been 1-1 but they made a mistake and Lucas Leiva should have received a second yellow card which was important. We were the best team. We conceded three so something went wrong but the second and third goals were counter-attacks.”

It hasn’t taken long for old habits to return but that said, they were denied by the woodwork and Pepe Reina in a game that saw them missing star man and captain Lorenzo Pellegrini through suspension.

There’s much more to come from Roma but for now, as Lazio fans like to say, the sky above the city remains blue.

And elsewhere …

😱 Goal of the Weekend

There were some top contenders but when Ruslan Malinovskyi strikes a ball with his left foot, there are fewer more enjoyable sights as the San Siro found out on Saturday.

🥇 Player of the Weekend

Mattia Destro’s career perhaps hasn’t hit the heights expected but he popped up with two fine finishes for Genoa over the weekend, scoring the second while clutching a bottle of water in his hand before launching it into the crowd in celebration. Surely a first for him!