Gian Piero Gasperini marked his first Derby della Capitale in charge of Roma with a battling 1-0 win over Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico.
The 163rd Serie A meeting between the eternal city rivals was every bit as fiery as expected, opening with crunching tackles and little attacking fluency. Lazio threatened first through former Roma striker Pedro, who blazed over before setting up Nuno Tavares for another miss.
Roma, meanwhile, struggled to impose themselves until Mile Svilar tipped over Mattia Zaccagni’s effort, and Andrea Romagnoli narrowly missed with a header from the ensuing corner. But it was the Giallorossi who struck first, capitalizing on a Lazio mistake. Devyne Rensch robbed Tavares deep in his own box, Matías Soulé picked up the loose ball, and Lorenzo Pellegrini buried a composed first-time finish into the bottom corner on 38 minutes.
Roma held firm from there, seeing out the heated clash to take the bragging rights in Gasperini’s debut derby.
