So Lazio have won their first derby in 2 years. As much as I want to say "whoop-de-doo" right now, barring Taglivento's shambolic decision to award a penalty for Brocchi's blatant dive, the way they played in the 2nd was deserving of a win honestly.

So what went wrong for us?

Fairly simple. Kjaer's red card change the whole complexity of the match, as reds often do. Even without the penalty, we were always going to struggle in that half and Lazio still may have come out with 3 points. But even before that. Lazio came out flying after the break...putting us under all kinds of pressure, something that had been building from the first half. Reja recognized that we were trying to play the ball out of defense and so instructed his attackers to pressure De Rossi, Kjaer and Heinze in possesion, thus stopping us from getting the ball forward as easily as we were able to do for the first 15 minutes of the match. That's what ultimately lead to our downfall, I feel.

What went right today?

Bojan, Osvaldo and Pjanic were fantastic today, win or no win. That gives us a lot of hope for future games when Totti isn't playing. The link up play between those 3 was superb to watch at times and Osvaldo's goal was well worked and deserved in the 7th minute. It's just a a shame that we couldn't carry that on into the rest of the game.

I think Cassetti's introduction for the injured Rosi was also a positive today. He looked very industrious going forward and he whipped in some telling crosses that were ultimately not read by either Bojan or Osvaldo. Defensive, he was rather average...with Hernanes getting the better of him on a few occasions, but overall I think he acquitted himself well. Jose Angel had a rather quiet game going forward with Cisse and Konko to contend with, but looked much better defensively than in previous matches.

De Rossi had another fine game in the middle, but was made to suffer for most of it after Reja ordered Lazio to pressure him more in possession, which they did to good effect. To DDR's eternal credit, he never gave up and he showed great composure on the ball to outfox the likes of Brocchi, Ledesma and Matuzalem on quite a few occassions.

Ultimately, this game will hurt for some time due to the fact that we lost and Lazio won. They now have the bragging rights until the return fixture next year. I believe we're going to see 2 completely different teams at that time. Who will better? Who will be worse? That remains to be seen and is of little importance in the here and now. What is important is that we pick ourselves up and get ready to host a strong Palermo side at home. I'm seriously hoping we have Totti back for that game.

Thoughts on today's match, boys?

we started the game well, but we stopped trying after that 1st goal and invited too much pressure from lazio

i hate praising our rivals, but hernanes did a good job tracking de rossi. but thats the end of that

as for us, our gap between midfield and defense is still too big. we squandered a couple of good chances in the 1st half which came back to haunt us. we should've been 2-0 up at HT

the PK was indeed the correct call but brocchi made the most out of it. all kjaer did was tap him on the shoulder and his knees buckled like the london bridge. it's a flaw in the game, and it has nothing to do with roma/lazio/serie A. whether we like it or not, it is what it is

we cant win every derby, and lazio will have this one hanging over us, at least until we win the next one when totti's back. it's not as bad as it sounds because they only won due to the (1) 1st half injury (2) red card (3) PK (4) no totti. looking forward to the next derby where we'll thump them silly

I think you pretty much summed it up bro great post.

I personally have not cooled off enough yet and I cant get past Tagliavento. In my eyes at this moment it was him who won the match for Lazio. Im off to eat dinner and drown myself in vino, when I get back I will attmpt to make a rational post.

ps. I would have started Burdisso over Kjaer and Pizarro over Perotta

LE makes too many changes. whether it's good or bad, i'm sure it affects our team chemistry. no reason for simplicio not to start today as he had just scored and had the entire international break to rest

Gutted that we lost in the last minute..We deserved the draw,we showed a lot of fight with 10 men..

Where to start,well the ref ,what a joke he was,from the first kick of the game he was on our tails throwing cards left,right and center and then to send Kjaer off for a blatant dive by Brocchi was *bleep* pathetic..

Osvaldo nice goal today... I'm really starting to like this guy I was very critical when we first bought him *Mainly because of the transfer fee* but he keeps on scoring..
Loved the message on his jersey...

Pjainc was brilliant him linking up with Bojan and Osvaldo was a joy to watch esp in the first half..

Gago also played well and offered us that extra bit of creativity in the middle of the park I just hope he can stay fit for us,he really can offer us a lot in the future if he does..

DDR done well but really didn't get enough time on the ball though with Cisse and Klose breathing down his neck everytime we had goal kick,this will be a problem all season long for us I fear....

LE I felt should have started Simplicio instead of Perrotta,he played great against Atalanta in the last game I don't quite understand why he left him out..To much chopping and changing like Schnix mentioned...


Nazio got lucky tonight ..We'll give them a good hiding in the next one...

Palermo at home next week..Watched them against Milan last night and they looked terrible,so hopefully we can bounce back well from this defeat...

what did his shirt say during his celebration? i missed it because i was busy posting here

schnix wrote:what did his shirt say during his celebration? i missed it because i was busy posting here

I purged you guys

nice, first he does the batigol celebration, then this lol

you're right. i am starting to like him too. i don't think i ever hated him tbh. i just hated the transfer fee. i still do, sort of, maybe, i dont know. but we shall see, it's still too early to judge

tagliavento tho, i never liked. he's too indecisive and too inconsistent. it's like he flips coins in his mind everytime he has to make a decision

schnix wrote:nice, first he does the batigol celebration, then this lolyou're right. i am starting to like him too. i don't think i ever hated him tbh. i just hated the transfer fee. i still do, sort of, maybe, i dont know. but we shall see, it's still too early to judge

tagliavento tho, i never liked. he's too indecisive and too inconsistent. it's like he flips coins in his mind everytime he has to make a decision

Totti definitely told him to do it ..

i was disappointed no one did the montella celebration last season

This loss hurts...especially losing it in the last minute like we did.

Frankly we got overrun for much of the game in the midfield...with DDR playing in such a withdrawn role, our midfield suffers... Hernanes had a great game, as well as Brocchi which im not sure if the later is more because of our shoddy play more then anything.

I'm not sure the players have entirely bought into Enrique's system yet...The one commentator mentioned that the biggest difference he sees between Barcelona and Roma is the difference in pressure they put on getting the ball back. There is some times where we seemed contempt to just sit back late in the first and early in the second, which ended up costing us dearly...

I think we would have seen Lamela tonight if it werent for Kjaer's red...

To me, Enrique is rotating the squad a bit too much for my liking.

To me, Angel looked scared all night, and wasn't on his game. Heinze did play a solid game in my opinion, and saved Angel and Kjaer on a numerous occasions...

This game wasn't really as close as we'd like to think....We faded after the opening goal....I was expecting more from the new players in there first derby, but alas, on to Palermo, and its all apart of the learning curve.

Well, where to start...

Gutted to say the least. The way we lost was more disappointing than the actual result and performance; a last second goal like that is always a heart-breaker. I don't really feel like talking about the officiating right now, but I think these two quotes pretty much sum it up:

"Tagliavento was conditioned by what was said this week by the Lazio supporters. Fouls resulting in bookings against one team and not the other. I did not understand Osvaldo's yellow, very fiscal" - Carlo Zampa

"I've only seen Brocchi dive like that in swimming pools" -Alessandro Costacurta.

Enough said really. As for tactics, well we were at a disadvantage for two reasons: Kjaer's red which left us with 10 men and Rosi's injury. We pretty much had to waste two subs to cover for that, meaning Enrique had pretty much one substitution to make and went with Pizarro. Had it not been for Rosi's injury, I'm sure we would've seen Lamela make his debut. Lazio's defense played rather high tonight, which is why we played more vertically than usual. We couldn't really settle into our possession game, especially in the second half, and had to rely on some somewhat unorganized counters. I'm not gunna go into more depth than that because, due to various reasons, I wasn't able to rely focus on tactics today... mostly because it was a nerve-wracking game and I was watching it with a couple of Laziali as well, which just added insult to injury in the final seconds.

All in all, there's the positives we could take from this: Heinze with a decent match, Cassetti did well for his season debut and Osvaldo scored again (his celebration was great; "vi ho purgato anch'io" was written on his shirt, as a homage to Totti's shirt in 1999).

it still sickens me how the laziale are still defending him

how the hell do you fall FORWARD when someone tugs BACKWARDS on your shoulder

brocchi said it was the momentum. he obviously never went to school, like the rest of them. i should show the clip and brocchi quote to my old physics professor. he'd get a good laugh out of it

Meanwhile, Brocchi insists he did not dive to win the spot kick and expressed has delighted that Lazio had ended their losing streak in the Derby della Capitale.

"It wasn't a dive. He got my arm and the momentum swung me round, so it was simply the natural movement of my body in that situation."

Well enough said about the ref, he clearly was gunning for something, he probably took it seriously when the lazio side said that he always was against them.

The lowest sh*t in this game where when Gonzalez was laying on the pith with a "knee?" injury and his team mates wasent giving a flying f*ck about him, just kept on playing instead of putting the ball out of play. And when we got the possession then they where like, "look hes down put the ball out", if i where him i would be pissed.

where is juan f***ing!!?

sukrut23 wrote:where is juan f***ing!!?

Where? Probably in his house. You should move your F bomb before Juan...lol Sukrut nice bro nice....

Back on topic, where is Juan...Enrique must be hating on our Brazilians this year...Simplicio plays lights out and doesn't get a shot at the derby...Juan historically has been our starting CB...nowhere to be found this year.

I feel bad for Stekelenburg. He's started three games this season and hasn't got his first win yet. I was hoping and praying that he stopped Hernanes...Would have been a great confidence booster, and instantly made him a hero among the Tifosi...

You could tell hes frustrated, but I hope he knows that he can only do so much. It must be tough to adjust to a new place/new language/new style of game, it just seems to me like the guy is kind of isolated. I hope he comes around, and has a few stellar games, because I truly believe he is a difference maker...

schnix wrote:it still sickens me how the laziale are still defending him

how the hell do you fall FORWARD when someone tugs BACKWARDS on your shoulder

brocchi said it was the momentum. he obviously never went to school, like the rest of them. i should show the clip and brocchi quote to my old physics professor. he'd get a good laugh out of it

Meanwhile, Brocchi insists he did not dive to win the spot kick and expressed has delighted that Lazio had ended their losing streak in the Derby della Capitale.

"It wasn't a dive. He got my arm and the momentum swung me round, so it was simply the natural movement of my body in that situation."

You know what really sickend me was them dancing around like little girls at the final whistle,like they had won the scudetto or something..

http://www.goal.com/en/news/1717/editorial/2011/10/17/2714501/simon-kjaer-the-derby-villain-as-lazio-beat-roma-but-luis

Decent article by Kris Voakes..He makes a good point ...

I had said before the match that maybe we should have played Burdisso instead esp after Kjaers performance against Parma where lets be honest he could've easily been sent off in that one..The lad has a short temper.I don't mean to be hating on him due to that red card last night but the boy lacks a lot discipline ofc he's young and can get better but so far i haven't being that impressed by him...

PS I agree Sukrut.We need Juan back in that backline asap !!!

The Fonz wrote:You know what really sickend me was them dancing around like little girls at the final whistle,like they had won the scudetto or something..

that didnt really sicken me. they knew they were lucky, which is why they were celebrating

i didnt see it btw. i stopped watching the second klose scored

The fact that Juan hasn't even been called up tells me it's more than a fitness issue at this point... it's a wage issue. He'll be gone by the end of the season, January maybe, unless he makes a strong comeback and secures his spot in the starting 11. Now's his chance, given that Cassetti has finally been moved to right back (and was complimented by Enrique), Rosi is out and Kjaer is suspended.

how long is aleandro out?

ErPupone wrote:Well, where to start...

Gutted to say the least. The way we lost was more disappointing than the actual result and performance; a last second goal like that is always a heart-breaker. I don't really feel like talking about the officiating right now, but I think these two quotes pretty much sum it up:

"Tagliavento was conditioned by what was said this week by the Lazio supporters. Fouls resulting in bookings against one team and not the other. I did not understand Osvaldo's yellow, very fiscal" - Carlo Zampa

"I've only seen Brocchi dive like that in swimming pools" -Alessandro Costacurta.

Enough said really. As for tactics, well we were at a disadvantage for two reasons: Kjaer's red which left us with 10 men and Rosi's injury. We pretty much had to waste two subs to cover for that, meaning Enrique had pretty much one substitution to make and went with Pizarro. Had it not been for Rosi's injury, I'm sure we would've seen Lamela make his debut. Lazio's defense played rather high tonight, which is why we played more vertically than usual. We couldn't really settle into our possession game, especially in the second half, and had to rely on some somewhat unorganized counters. I'm not gunna go into more depth than that because, due to various reasons, I wasn't able to rely focus on tactics today... mostly because it was a nerve-wracking game and I was watching it with a couple of Laziali as well, which just added insult to injury in the final seconds.

All in all, there's the positives we could take from this: Heinze with a decent match, Cassetti did well for his season debut and Osvaldo scored again (his celebration was great; "vi ho purgato anch'io" was written on his shirt, as a homage to Totti's shirt in 1999).

Oh no dude, how could you enjoy life after that lol. Did you go and hide for the rest of the day? I remember watching Spain vs Italy in 2008 with a Spain native and I just about wrecked the guy hahaha, I couldn't imagine watching the derby with a laziale. Well I guess it is a case of feast or famine. It would have been so sweet if Osvaldo's backheel magic pass across the box would have found someones foot.

Juan is probably our best CB imo,we cannot afford to lose him..

narbeZ wrote:

ErPupone wrote:Well, where to start...

Gutted to say the least. The way we lost was more disappointing than the actual result and performance; a last second goal like that is always a heart-breaker. I don't really feel like talking about the officiating right now, but I think these two quotes pretty much sum it up:

"Tagliavento was conditioned by what was said this week by the Lazio supporters. Fouls resulting in bookings against one team and not the other. I did not understand Osvaldo's yellow, very fiscal" - Carlo Zampa

"I've only seen Brocchi dive like that in swimming pools" -Alessandro Costacurta.

Enough said really. As for tactics, well we were at a disadvantage for two reasons: Kjaer's red which left us with 10 men and Rosi's injury. We pretty much had to waste two subs to cover for that, meaning Enrique had pretty much one substitution to make and went with Pizarro. Had it not been for Rosi's injury, I'm sure we would've seen Lamela make his debut. Lazio's defense played rather high tonight, which is why we played more vertically than usual. We couldn't really settle into our possession game, especially in the second half, and had to rely on some somewhat unorganized counters. I'm not gunna go into more depth than that because, due to various reasons, I wasn't able to rely focus on tactics today... mostly because it was a nerve-wracking game and I was watching it with a couple of Laziali as well, which just added insult to injury in the final seconds.

All in all, there's the positives we could take from this: Heinze with a decent match, Cassetti did well for his season debut and Osvaldo scored again (his celebration was great; "vi ho purgato anch'io" was written on his shirt, as a homage to Totti's shirt in 1999).

Oh no dude, how could you enjoy life after that lol. Did you go and hide for the rest of the day? I remember watching Spain vs Italy in 2008 with a Spain native and I just about wrecked the guy hahaha, I couldn't imagine watching the derby with a laziale. Well I guess it is a case of feast or famine. It would have been so sweet if Osvaldo's backheel magic pass across the box would have found someones foot.

It was pretty intense. It wasn't so bad because the Laziali were outnumbered by us 4 to 2. But these were some ex-Curva Nord guys so it was serious shit. It was interesting to get both points of view on the match, but when Klose put that ball in, all I remember was one Laziale jumping across the room to get to the other one, and we couldn't believe it. They weren't happy about the performance until that point, but then the result is all that counts. It was an interesting experience though.

Did you know the guys Mike,or did you just so happen to be in the same place watching it *pub* or something ?