AS Rome could not have started the year better in Serie A. Opposed to its Roman neighbor, the Louve club won 2-0, making the difference in the first twenty minutes thanks to two goals from Lorenzo Pellegrini (11e) and Alexis Saelemaekers (18e). However, if the suspense quickly vanished, the tension was there.
The best illustration of this tension was undoubtedly the violent clash between Manu Koné and Matteo Guendouzi. After a tackle by the former Toulousain on his teammate in the French team, the latter came out of his control and did not hesitate to grab the jersey of his compatriot for a head to head under high tension.
Start of general brawl at the end of the match
Despite this heatwave, the tension quickly subsided between the two men. Manu Kobé had also warned before the match that friendship would remain in the locker room for the duration of the match. Tempers heated up again at the end of the match with the start of a general fight between the two sidelines after a forceful intervention by Mats Hummels on Valentin Castellanos, guilty of a gesture of humor and logically expelled.
Despite their victory against their neighbor, Roma remains stuck in the soft underbelly in the standings while Lazio is still fourth but sees the podium slipping away, now five points behind Inter Milan, third, and nine behind the Neapolitan leader.
