Roma Vs. Lazio: Francesco Totti The Hero For Roma As Lazio Ends Derby With Nine Men

Read More: francesco totti, Lazio, AS Roma

The Derby Della Capitale may have been, shall we say, downright dull for the first 65 minutes, but in the end we all got what we'd hoped for: handbags and heroes. Francesco Totti, Roma through and through, scored twice to give his team the 2-0 win over Lazio. Lazio players responded with petulance, resorting to fierce tackles and even headbutts in their fight to capture at least a point. Instead, they found themselves down to nine men by the final whistle. Lazio's loss sees them overtaken by Udinese for the fourth Champions League position, with the Fruliani winning 4-0 at Cagliari.

The action all started in the 68th minute, when Lazio midfielder Francesco Matuzalem took down David Pizarro just outside the area. Captain Totti stepped up to take the free kick, driving a low, hard shot through the scrum of players in front of goal. Lazio keeper Fernando Muslera dove the wrong direction and Roma had a 1-0 lead.

From that point on, Lazio completely lost their heads. The match had already showed signs of scrappiness, with Matuzalem and Stephan Lichtsteiner in particular committing a few dirty fouls. After the goal, Matuzalem stomped on Totti's face while he was on the ground, but managed to get away with no booking. What couldn't be ignored, however, was the headbutt by Ştefan Radu. Radu, displeased by Roma's time-wasting attempts during a corner kick, charged over from near the goal to the corner flag, all to knock heads with Fábio Simplício. The linesman was approximately five inches away, and Radu was shown a straight red.

Tensions rose even further during the last few minutes of normal time, with tempers finally boiling over a minute into added time. Simplício, set through on the Lazio goal, was bundled over by not one but two Lazio players inside the area, with the penalty kick being awarded against Giuseppe Biava. Despite the fact that it was a clear penalty, Lazio players surrounded the referee. In the end it was Cristian Ledesma who was sent off for dissent, but the official looked tempted to show the red card to anyone standing nearby.

Of course it was Totti who stepped to the spot, causing Muslera to appear as though he might vomit right then and there. Sure enough, there was nothing the keeper could do to keep out Totti's powerful strike, one that hit the roof of the net and bounced down behind Muslera. That's two derby wins in Serie A for Roma this season, as Edy Reja continues to wonder why his team just can't find any points against their rivals.