The overtaking is done. After a chase that lasted several weeks, Lazio put the arrow on Rome and moved to second place in the standings. Big party on the Lazio side of the Tiber, enraptured by the umpteenth great performance of the team, able to walk on Sarri's Empoli with a bombastic 4-0. On the other hand, the yellow and red people foamed with anger, who with the 1-1 draw in Turin saw the worst nightmare materialize: losing second place to their bitter rivals. Who really live a wonderful moment, almost irrepressible.
With yesterday's consecutive victories in the championship have become 8, just like in the days of Maestrelli (scudetto in 1974) and Delio Rossi (qualification in the Champions League in 2003/04): one more and Eriksson's streak (champion of the Italy in 2000), absolute record for the club. If this is the case, we can really talk about a feat given that the calendar, next Saturday, foresees the away game in Turin against Juventus.
First against second, albeit with a significant gap (12 points): put like this, you really want to dream… “We will only draw conclusions at the end, now we have to enjoy our rankings – Pioli's words. – We think game after game, if we have reached this point it is because we have always reasoned like this. Against Empoli it was an important stage, we came from a semi-final of the Italian Cup and there was the risk of being superficial”.
It wasn't like that and it was understood from the first minutes. It took just 4 to unlock the game: Cavanda's cross from the right and Mauri's header. The doubling came in a photocopy but this time, the usual Klose (31') took care of capitalizing on the full-back's assist. And when Candreva hit the seven with a missile from distance (43') the match went into the attic.
But the best was yet to come, not so much for Felipe Anderson's tap-in (53'), as for the news arriving from Turin. Where Roma, who took the lead thanks to a penalty from Florenzi (58'), were reached by a paw from Maxi Lopez (65'). The overtaking materialized because the Giallorossi, despite a final siege, were no longer able to get ahead. “What matters is finishing second at the end of the season – commented Garcia. – From next week we will try to take back the placement”.
Strange life and even more football. Up until a few months ago Roma "gufava" Juve with all their strength, now they will find themselves cheering them on in the hope that they can stop Lazio. Because there's a huge difference between second and third place (Naples know something about it, eliminated by Athletic Bilbao in the August preliminary), especially if it's the hated cousins who get ahead.
