“The Result Can Depend On Many Different Factors, But The Key Is To Keep Fighting Hard"

Written By Onyeka Daniel

It was a return to winning ways for AS Roma as they defeated their city rival, Lazio in the Rome Derby at the Stadio Olimpico and for their manager, Claudio Ranieri, he revealed what made him realise Lorenzo Pellegrini would decide the game and joked about his Roma changes. ‘It seemed logical to start two World Cup winners.’

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The veteran coach said he didn’t expect to be sitting on the bench for another derby after effectively retiring last summer, but he returned to oversee a memorable 2-0 victory. His decisions were brave ones, picking Lorenzo Pellegrini when the captain had been struggling psychologically with the pressure of anger from a section of the fans.

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But they paid off because the midfielder opened the scoring before the Alexis Saelemaekers second. “Pellegrini came to talk to me yesterday and I realised he had this mad desire to be the captain of Roma in the derby,” Ranieri said. “I couldn’t wait for him to express that, because we coaches try to motivate players and ask more of them.

I put him on against Milan and told him it was not a good performance, but today I was convinced he would do well and told him he would play. “The goal is in his blood, he is one of the best Italian midfielders when it comes to scoring goals. He didn’t ask me to play, I just got the feeling his mood was where I needed it to be.” Ranieri has tried to reassure him since his arrival, comparing him to Frank Lampard at Chelsea.

But also then left him on the bench to in a way protect the player from this added pressure. As the third coach of the campaign for Roma, Ranieri has brought much-needed stability, especially as De Rossi and Juric were constantly chopping and changing. “I agree we are now a team, everyone knows what they ought to be doing and how to help each other out. We can keep our shape, which is very important, and now we must continue like this.

“After a poor first half of the season for Roma, we must prove that we’ve come through the tunnel and now we need to start seeing some sunlight. We need a great performance against Bologna, because it really would be terrible to go to Bologna and not replicate this approach. “The result can depend on many different factors, but the key is that we fight just as hard as we did this evening.”

This means that Ranieri has won all five of his games as the Roma coach between Serie A and the Coppa Italia. The longest 100 per cent record for a tactician in this fixture. Is he tempted to remain on the bench next season too? “No, I am ready to remain until the end of the season, then God will provide,” joked the veteran. “A coach has to provide a counter-balance in a derby.

“So if the players are too fired up, he has to calm things down, and vice versa. The coach does not provide anything extra to the equation. “I just try to ensure the players are calm and give their all on the field.” Before Ranieri arrived, players like Mats Hummels and Leandro Paredes were practically abandoned on the bench, but now they have become regular starters.

“It seemed only logical for me to start two World Cup winners,” smiled the coach. “I tend to get called in during problematic situations at clubs, but I try to bring calm, a hard work ethic and restore some confidence.” There was tension in stoppages and at the final whistle. Then Ranieri was spotted telling Lazio coach Marco Baroni that he was ‘sorry’ it ended that way.

“I was disappointed because the derby had gone so calmly, and we shouldn’t have ended it like that.” He concluded. For Marco Baroni, he explained what went wrong for Lazio in the defeat to Roma, conceding ‘two avoidable goals,’ but was reassured by the second half performance.The Aquile are still having a far more successful campaign than their bitter rivals.

They’re still 12 points clear of them in the Serie A table, as well as top of the Europa League standings. However, the bragging rights for the Derby della Capitale go to the Giallorossi. “We conceded two avoidable goals, it was a pity. The team lacked the right tempo and wasn’t effective enough down the wings, while we need a player in the trequartista role and that was lacking in the first half,” Baroni told DAZN.

“We weren’t fast enough moving the ball around and I feel that was the main explanation. “In the second half, it was a real Lazio performance. Now we are disappointed for our fans, but I saw my team in the second half, so we must rebuild from there.” Baroni made a double change at half-time, introducing Boulaye Dia and Loum Tchaouna for Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and Gustav Isaksen. Does he regret the initial choices?

“We are struggling in attack at the moment due to injuries. Pedro is out, Noslin was in no shape to play either, so when you start with four strikers, you need to have options off the bench too. “We thought a midfielder would give us more stability, but we weren’t moving the ball around quickly enough and the two early goals made it even more difficult.

At half-time, we talked and corrected a few things, we went back to raising the tempo and attacking down the flanks, which are elements this team simply cannot do without. “In the second half, we controlled the match and took the initiative, which is what we usually do.” Does Baroni feel that Lazio need a different player for that supporting role behind the striker and could he be signed in January?

“The club and director are looking around, but we are also at the same time trying to improve the players we have. Dele-Bashiru is still learning the position and how to control the ball between the lines. We are also missing Matias Vecino for a long time, but that must not be an alibi,” continued the coach. “As I said, our tactical identity is the most important thing and I saw that in the second half.”

Read Also: Conceiçao Reveals How He Was Able To Turn The Game Around In The Supercoppa Italiana

Despite dominating possession and creating several chances, Lazio failed to close the gap and the scoreline remained the same, with the tension getting to Taty Castellanos for a stoppage-time red card following his coming together with Mats Hummels. Now Castellanos, Mattia Zaccagni and Mario Gila will all be suspended for the next match against Como, forcing Baroni to reshuffle.

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