In the early morning of March 21, Beijing time, the 30th round of Serie A ushered in a focus battle, and the Roma derby was staged on time.
Before this round, Lazio temporarily ranked fifth with 49 points, but there was already a 10-point gap between Juventus, who was fourth. Roma trailed Lazio by one point, and in the European Cup in midweek, Roma drew with Verdis and advanced 2-1 over two legs.
Before the game, Mourinho and Sarri had some friendly air exchanges in interviews. Just when the fans thought the Roma derby would be a tough fight, just 52 seconds into the game, there were goals.
Pellegrini's corner kick was aimed directly at goal and the ball hit the crossbar. Tammy Abraham, who was guarding in front of goal, had little time to react and directly used his thighs to pad the ball into the goal.
Roma made a fantastic start, with Tammy Abraham and his teammates celebrating with a smile. To be precise, Roma "opened the game" with a 1-0 lead.
After conceding the ball, Lazio's formation pressed on, and Mourinho signaled the players to do a good job of defense. Of course, defending is not Mourinho's intention, and defensive counterattack is what the Magic Bird likes.
Although possession was handed over to the opponent, Roma's counterattack was higher than a wave, and Lazio was in front of the goal.
In the 21st minute, Roma played a counterattack again, the in-form Mkhitaryan sent a delicate pass, Karlsdorp crossed, Abraham followed up, and scored twice.
The camera is given to Totti in the stands, and the Roman prince also stands up to celebrate. But the camera gives Mourinho, whose expression is rather calm, just silently giving a thumbs up.
Lazio's nightmare continued, and in the 31st minute, captain Pellegrini took advantage of a free kick to score a super world wave, the ball hanging straight into the dead corner, Roma took a 3-0 lead.
The camera gives Totti again, and his smile is still bright.
Throughout the first half, Roma were at a disadvantage in possession but had an absolute advantage in shooting 11-1.
In the second half, Lazio finally got into shape. The two teams are also more active in the fight, there have been more than one fiery clash on the field, and the Roma derby is worthy of the name.
The two teams were nearly unsuccessful throughout the second half, and in the end, Roma won 3-0 at home to Lazio and won one of the most important games of the season. After scoring in the opening, Roma's defensive counterattack was effective, and Mourinho's brand on Roma was getting heavier and heavier.
After the match, Roma overtook Lazio and rose to fifth place in the table, but there was still an eight-point gap between juventus and fourth place.