Serie A, Week 26: Lazio Claim Derby Spoils With 2-1 Win Over Roma

It’s almost here, the event we’ve all been waiting for, the Derby Della Capitale. Red and yellow v Blue and white. Wolves against Eagles. Good v Evil.

Napoli took the lead just before the break through the skill of Cavani. The forward twisted his way through the Parma defence, finding a bit of space inside the area. Before he could take advantage, Gianluca Musacci clipped the back of his heel, sending Cavani tumbling and earning himself a yellow card in the process. El Matador stepped up to the spot himself, but sent in an easy shot, batted away by Antonio Mirante. Unfortunately for the home side, the keeper couldn’t smother the ball, and Cavani knocked it in on the rebound.

The visitors took the lead into the break, but from the look on Walter Mazzarri’s face, you could tell that their performance just wasn’t enough (to be fair, you could tell by watching their misplaced passes as well). Shortly after the restart, Parma did their best to find an equaliser, even putting the ball in the back of the net -- only to see the goal called back for a foul. Minutes later, McDonald Mariga missed a perfect opportunity to level the score, sending the ball high into the stands.

For his second, the giant forward skipped through the rosanero defence to poke the ball past Viviano. By the 35th minute, Ibra had his hat-trick, with the home side barely moving as he picked his perfect spot to curl his shot into the far corner.

Meanwhile, in other matches: Chievo look to be the first to hand Juventus a defeat this season, and with their bogeyman Sergio Pellissier, it just might happen. Probably not, though, as Pesslier is suspended, which usually makes scoring difficult. Milan play earlier on Saturday and might have trouble with Palermo, considering their home record, so Juve will be doing their best to find points and retake first place.

On Sunday, after the aforementioned Parma - Napoli match, a bunch of mid-table teams play low-table teams while the world keeps its eye on Rome. If the derby doesn’t thrill you enough, the weekend ends with Inter hosting Catania. The rossazzurri could find themselves even on points with Inter -- with a game in hand -- should they win in Milan. That’s pretty crazy stuff for Vincenzo Montella’s exciting side.