Lazio 3-2 Roma: Three Things We Learned

The Serie A title race, and even the entire league to a certain extent, is shaping up to be as exciting as it has been in a long time this season. There are so many clubs making a real statement with every single performance they put in on a week-by-week basis and on Sunday, the Derby della Capitale offered up an opportunity for Lazio to do just that with an impressive 3-2 win over rivals Roma.

After racing into an early 2-0 lead we saw Lazio overcome some real adversity before hanging on to seal all three points and vault up to sixth place in the league.

Derby intensity lives

Tough challenges, fans getting rowdy and plenty of goals – this is what a derby day is supposed to be about. It’s no secret whatsoever that these two clubs don’t like one another but instead of hiding away from that fact, the pair of them decided to go all guns blazing with a back and forth classic that produced far more entertainment than most were anticipating. Moving forward, it isn’t going to be at all surprising to see both sides in the mix for the top four – and potentially even higher than that.

The Sarri era begins

Maurizio Sarri has been waiting for the chance to really “arrive” as Lazio manager and he grabbed his opportunity with both hands here (not just because he held an eagle on the pitch, either). The fanbase had welcomed him with open arms but there wasn’t necessarily a whole lot of fanfare behind his arrival, probably because he isn’t that kind of manager. Alas, instead of fading into the background, he was able to shine through in this game and prove he has the tactical nuisance necessary to make some waves during the campaign.

Classic Mourinho

Complaining about the referee, storming out of press conferences before they’ve even started and being involved in a lively derby game? That’s the kind of stuff Jose Mourinho lives for.

Roma fans should’ve known that it wasn’t all going to go their way after an initially positive start to the Serie A season and now they’re starting to understand a little bit more about that. Jose Mourinho does what he wants to do and even though that doesn’t always bode well for the club he’s at, it always makes for one hell of a rollercoaster ride for as long as it lasts.