The Derby of Rome Turns the Eternal City into a Raging Volcano

In a rare show of unity in the Italian capital, hard-core fans of Roma and Lazio boycotted the match in protest at security measures that have split the Stadio Olimpico “curve” – the ends of the stadium where “ultra” fans sit.

One goal proved to be enough for AS Roma to lose on the road and in the process they were overtaken by both their victors and Fiorentina.

Replays, however, showed that the foul occurred just outside the area.

Roma were in command from the outset and were rewarded in the ninth minute when Edin Dzeko stepped up to beat Federico Marchetti from the penalty spot after Santiago Gentiletti’s clumsy challenge, which looked to be be just outside the area.

Shortly after the hour mark, Gervinho sprinted past Lazio’s defense to control a long pass from Radja Nainggolan with his thigh, then ran by defender Dusan Basta to score with a precise, angled shot. “You’ve seen the pictures, I’ll say no more. I hope the situation can be resolved”, said Garcia.

Stefano Pioli’s men have not dominated a league derby since a 3-2 win in November 2012 and last week’s shock 3-1 defeat at home to resurgent AC Milan prompted a Lotito outburst that left little to the imagination. “It was a truly lovely game and a great result – it’s just a pity it was played without the two Curvas“.

Elsewhere, Juventus came back from a goal down to win 3-1 at Empoli and Sassuolo beat relegation-threatened Carpi 1-0 to move level on points with fourth-placed Napoli, which hosts Udinese later.

One of the most exciting derbies in world football, the Derby Della Capitale is a match that always promises to be interesting, and in most of the cases it delivers.

Roma now ranks second in the Serie A table with 26 points, one point behind leaders Inter. “We deserved it and I’m happy for everyone”.

Roma have announced that Egypt global Mohamed Salah will be out of action for 4-6 weeks after the ankle injury he sustained during the Giallorossi’s 2-0 triumph against city rivals Lazio.

However, much like The Predator, Salah’s game is predicated on speed and the ankle, unfortunately, is an extremely slow healing joint, at least in my experiences. Alessandro Florenzi, Daniele De Rossi and Maicon were injured during the Champions League game against Leverkusen last Wednesday, Francesco Totti and Seydou Keita are still affected by injuries and Miralem Pjanic will be suspended.