Halfway through the first half, the specter of a double hoax hovered over the Olimpico: losing the derby and seeing Juventus escape in the standings. A nightmare for the giallorossi, a dream for the biancocelesti. Because Roma-Lazio after the first 45 minutes told of a Lazio totally in control of the pitch and with a 2-0 lead, led by the disruptive Felipe Anderson, author of the assist for Mauri's advantage and the double goal. The match seemed to be one-sided, but in the second half Francesco Totti took charge of his team, signing the brace (the second goal on a split volley was splendid) which led to the 2-2 final.
Two goals that make Francesco Totti, in his derby number 40, the best scorer in the history of the derby (Dino Da Costa is also at 11 but with two goals in the Italian Cup), a brace celebrated as never before, i.e. with a selfie in front of the Curva Sud in celebration: “I thought about it for a week – explained Totti after the match -. By now there is a fashion, I'm not used to doing them because I want my private life to remain that way, but this was a unique and unrepeatable opportunity, having overtaken important players, it was something he will remember for a long time. Unfortunately we threw away the first half, we weren't able to make our plays, it wasn't easy to recover the result, especially in such a special game. It was important not to lose, given how the game went, we gave an important signal to the championship."
The joy of having managed to put a compromised game back on its feet, but also the anger for 45 minutes thrown away: "When you draw 2-2 after a comeback, it's always positive – coach Garcia cut short -, we had a second half of great level. It wasn't easy to recover two goals. Disappointing first half? We gave many balls to Lazio who didn't do very well anyway. Totti? He's a genius and today he proved it once again."
Those who won three precious points were Inter, who beat Genoa 3-1 at San Siro. Mancini's men (who fielded Podolski as starter, while keeping Shaqiri on the bench) were the protagonists of a sparkling first half, which finished ahead 2-0 thanks to goals from Palacio and Icardi. In the second half, the Nerazzurri dropped in terms of pace and intensity, and Genoa took advantage of this by advancing the center of gravity and creating quite a few problems for the Inter rearguard.
After Lestienne's crossbar, Izzo's momentary 2-1 came five minutes from the end, but immediately afterwards Vidic (starter for the first time since 9 November) took care of closing the score: "I'm satisfied with the result and the first time, not of the second – explained Roberto Mancini -. But this could have been predictable because we've dropped a lot with the three attacking players behind Icardi: they're the ones out of shape. I hope that the team can always improve but many problems remain to be solved and we will do it slowly. Podolski? He has always played that role, in the national team and at Arsenal. It's true, we're working well, but a win doesn't change our path, we still need time. When the team finds physical condition with those three (Icardi, Palacio and Podolski, ed), I believe and hope they can improve".
In addition to the victory, Mancini himself took care of making the fans smile, literally knocked down in the second half by a ball from Andreolli that hit him in the face causing him to go sprawling. Mancini stood up smiling and at the end of the game he said: "The only ball he had to kick backwards he kicked forward...". At the Nerazzurri the wind has definitely changed, and the three points won so confidently against Genoa could represent the first, fundamental steps towards the run-up to third place.
