Roma rallies to ruin Lazio's derby dreams
Roma claimed back-to-back victories in the Derby Della Capitale after it beat fourth-placed Lazio 2-0 to move back into the top 10 on the Serie A table.
The victory marked a fifth win in the fixture for Giallorossi boss Claudio Ranieri, who maintained his perfect record in the fixture, and backed up his pre-match belief that form would go out of the window when the two sides met.
For Lazio coach Marco Baroni, who was experiencing his first such derby and had downplayed its impact in his pre-match comments, it was a chastening defeat that may have extinguished any faint hope his side still had had of a tilt at the title.
Roma was 2-0 up inside the first 20 minutes after flying out of the blocks at Stadio Olimpico.
Captain Lorenzo Pelllegrini, whom Ranieri had reportedly fired up with some tough love ahead of the match, responded with a brilliant curling finish from outside the box to open the scoring in the 10th minute, his first goal of the season.
Alexis Saelemaekers doubled the advantage on 18 minutes after a swift break from the back that saw Paulo Dybala charge into Lazio territory with the ball, feeding his team-mate to his right.
Saelemaekers's initial shot was well saved by Lazio goalkeeper Ivan Provedel, but the rebound fell kindly back at the feet of the Belgian attacker, and he made no mistake with his second chance.
Lazio improved in the second half, keeping Mile Svilar more than a little busy in Roma's goal with six shots on target, but in truth Baroni's side never looked like scoring as the clock wound down.
The fixtures feisty reputation was re-affirmed in stoppage-time when a second ball was thrown on to the pitch, causing a huge scuffle between players and both benches.
In the wash-up, Valentin Castellanos was sent off after Mats Hummels fell to the floor in a clash that sparked the brawl. The Roma defender appeared initially to have been the aggressor before he dramatically fell to the floor, but escpaed punishment as Castellanos was shown a red card.
Roma moved back into 10th on 23 points above Torino, which briefly sat in the higher position after a 0-0 draw with Parma earlier in the day.
For Lazio, while it remains in fourth spot on 35 points, it is only three ahead of Juventus and Fiortentina in fifth and sixth respoectively, having played a game more than both sides.
Roma native Pellegrini had been accused by supporters of being among a group of players that pushed for the sacking of former coach Daniele De Rossi in September.
But the skipper was given a standing ovation in the 67th minute when he was substituted by Nicolo Pisilli, a sign that he may have won back the hearts of the Giallorossi faithful as the new year started in positive fashion for Roma.
