What Went Wrong for Lazio in Vital Derby vs Roma?

Whilst plenty was at stake within the race for a spot within the top-four in the eternal city, Lazio were forced to share spoils in a 1-1 draw against cross-city rivals Roma in the Derby della Capitale, stagnating the Biancocelesti’s push for a UEFA Champions League berth next season.

Even though in retrospect the match was fairly even as both capital clubs had quite a handful of exchanges and blows within each other’s final third, it seemed that coach Marco Baroni’s men struggled in several aspects this evening, failing to gain the upper hand on their cross-city rivals.

Lack of Defensive Stability in Midfield

Although midfield pair Matteo Guendouzi and Nicolo Rovella proved pivotal offensively as they injected flair offensively and sprayed numerous diagonal balls across the pitch, which caused havoc for coach Claudio Ranieri’s back-line, the Biancocelesti struggled to contain Roma in the middle of the park.

When the Giallorossi won back the ball and prepared to transition forward, building from the back towards the middle, infused with swift one-two combinations between Manu Koné and Lorenzo Pellegrini, were executed far too easily, permitting Roma to break the press and for the two central play-makers to drive forward with ease.

Inability to Neutralize the Width

The absence of Portuguese full-back Nuno Tavares was extremely apparent, as Lazio were constantly unable to cope with attacking tridents Alexis Saelemaekers and Matías Soulé.

The pair of wingers caused mayhem out-wide with their blistering pace and strong technical ability, allowing the attacking-minded players to manoeuvre through their markers far too easily.

Hence, the promising Argentine launched a rocket from distance after combining with the Milan loanee through superb movement that caused the defence to lose total awareness of his positioning, allowing the Giallorossi to cancel out Alessio Romagnoli’s opening header.

Inefficiency in the Final Third

Amid Lazio finding success through stretching the play out-wide and creating opportunities from the flanks, as well as managing to be a menace in set-pieces, the Biancocelesti failed to convert far too many chances.

From Gustav Isaksen’s remarkable occasion on the right-hand side, Alessio Romagnoli’s staggering header within the box, or even Boulaye Dia and Tijjani Noslin’s misfortunes within minimal distance of goal, Lazio were incapable of getting past Roma custodian Mile Svilar on far too many occasions that should have been converted to the back of the net.

Ultimately, Lazio found themselves slightly punished for their inability to break the deadlock within the first forty-five minutes, as it would have definitely changed the momentum of the fixture.

Effects on Lazio after 1-1 Derby Draw

Consequently, Lazio currently sit in sixth and are four points adrift of Juventus, finding themselves in a difficult predicament to qualify for next year’s UEFA Champions League within the league, whilst also trailing by two goals against Bodo/Glimt heading into the second leg of the UEFA Europa League Quarter-Finals.