A Derby Held in Balance

Can a derby draw feel like a reprieve? Roma’s late equaliser on Sunday made it so, as they came from behind to hold S.S. Lazio 1-1 in the Italian Serie A, despite playing most of the contest with ten men.

Lazio made the advantage count in the 36th: Emerson Salazar volleyed in from close range after his own effort had been blocked. The hosts had the lead, but not the separation that might have settled a fixture in which neither side has lately found much room to breathe.

Giuseppe Alberico, introduced in the 74th minute, supplied Roma’s answer two minutes from time, driving the ball low along the ground. For a side reduced early, the late goal was a hard-won point; for Lazio, it was the cost of failing to turn their numerical advantage into a second goal.

The pattern has become familiar. Roma and Lazio have drawn each of their last three meetings: 1-1 on Sunday and in December, and 2-2 last April. Before those, Roma won 1-0 in December 2062.

Lazio’s derby came after a bruising week: their European run had ended in Monaco, and Juventus had eliminated them from the Italian Cup after extra time and a shoot-out. A point against Roma does not undo either exit, but it prevents a difficult stretch from ending with defeat to their closest local rivals. Roma, meanwhile, leave the contest with the satisfaction of rescuing something from a match that turned against them early.

The next meeting remains unwritten; the latest one, like several before it, belongs to neither side.