A few days on and it’s still difficult to know exactly what to make of the draw in the derby. On the one hand, it was frustrating not to take advantage of Lazio being down to 10 men and snatch a late win, but on the other hand it could have been a lot worse for Roma if Hernanes had converted his penalty kick while it was still 1-0.
Aurelio Andreazzoli’s hand was forced into changes for the stracittadina with the suspensions of Ivan Piris and Pablo Osvaldo, while Federico Balzaretti was also not fit enough to start after suffering from flu during the week. However, despite having most of his key players available, the coach gambled on a change of shape to a 4-3-1-2, switching from his usual 3-4-2-1.
In the first half, Roma clearly struggled to adapt to the formation. Up front Erik Lamela was either too narrow to be used to his full potential or, when he did move out wide, there were too few options pushing on through the centre in support. Behind the strikers, Miralem Pjanic had one of his poorest games in a Giallorossi shirt as he frequently gave possession away and struggled to provide the creative spark that his role required.
Pjanic admitted he was unhappy with himself after the game, but revealed he had played against Lazio despite injury niggles. “I’m not happy with my game, I lost too many balls”, he said to Roma Channel. “This week I had some muscle problems, which prevented me from training at my best. I could have done more and I’m sorry for that – I did what I could”.
If the first half showed that Andreazzoli still has work to do to prove that he merits the Roma job on a full time basis, some half time tinkering demonstrated his tactical nous. After Hernanes’ mistake from the spot, Roma took the initiative from the Biancocelesti and Pjanic turned Hernanes from a villain into a derby supervillain when he won a penalty from the Brazilian’s mistimed challenge in the box.
As the half went on, Roma had the better chances to score the game’s next goal; Federico Marchetti denied Francesco Totti and Alessandro Florenzi with a fine double save, Lamela headed over the bar from almost underneath it, while Marquinhos stepped over a fizzing Totti cross rather than turning it towards goal. Giuseppe Biava’s red card seemed to have turned the tide firmly in the Giallorossi’s favour, but Roma couldn’t take advantage.
Before the game, Andreazzoli had mused on whether a draw would be like a defeat. “It depends how it arrives, we’d have to evaluate the 90 minutes. If the opponent is as good as you, then it’s difficult to beat them”. Looking back, a draw has to be seen as frustrating but not a disaster.
True, Lazio had played Fenerbahce on the Thursday and played with 10 men for nearly half an hour, and for all of Roma’s tactical issues and poor individual performances still only trailed by one at half time. But they at least did not lost any ground in the race for the Europa League places over the weekend (the Champions League has long since been nothing more than a dream), and losing a fourth derby in a row would have been unthinkable.
Essentially the final stretch of this season should be a means to two ends – qualification for Europe and judging whether Andreazzoli should be appointed as coach beyond the summer. The first is still very much a possibility, while the second is in the balance. I wrote a couple of weeks ago that it was looking good and that a win in the derby would swing the popular vote in his favour, but since then many have questioned whether it would be the right choice after disappointing performances against Palermo and now Lazio.
Roma have still got AC Milan, Napoli and Fiorentina to play before the end of the season, but the key for them is to still be in the hunt by the time those matches roll round. They have often shown that they can raise themselves for big games but struggle against the lower sides in the league – and three of those are up next, with Torino and Pescara either side of the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi final.
While not beating a 10-man Lazio was frustrating, there is still a great deal for Roma to play for in the coming weeks to give themselves not only European football next season but another chance to put one over Vladimir Petkovic’s team in the cup final.
