Derby Reflections, Dybala Renewal, Verona Preview & More

It was the Mancini d- uh, brace two times off corner kicks.

Uh, you know, he enjoyed it as much as anybody 'cause he is probably as close to a Roman as you can be without being Roman-born, the way he's kind of, uh, become a member of this side for so many years and just fights for the crest every week.

And he came through with a big brace.

And, you know, we talked last week about who might drop points elsewhere to, to help Roma out 'cause they were losing on all the tiebreaks with Milan and Juve and those sides.

And I kinda thought it was Milan because they'd been the poorer side in terms of form, and it happened to be Juve who hadn't lost in 10 matches.

Fiorentina, um, did us a favor.

So what'd you guys make of the match against Lazio and, you know, what do you make of the opportunity Roma now has in front of them?

Yeah, I mean, I'll, I'll jump in first and I'll say that this is the best possible situation that Roma could be in, without a doubt.

I mean, was I expecting a Gianluca Mancini brace to be the reason why Roma might get into the Champions League? Definitely not.

Uh, was I expecting Roma to get a red card in this Derby della Capitale and still come out ahead 2-0? Definitely not.

Uh, at the same time, I think there's a lot to be proud of from this match.

I mean, Steve, you and I talked about how, you know...

I mean, it's not like Lazio has been drowning themselves in glory over the past, you know, several months.

But, you know, I mean, it's still a win is a win.

And, uh, you look at the manager head-to-head between Gasperini and Sarri, and it's not necessarily a situation where Gasperini is guaranteed to get a win against him.

Sarri's a great manager, and if you look at the last 23 matches, Gasperini's won eight, there have been eight draws, and Sarri's won seven.

So I, I have to say that I was very happy with this match.

Uh, beyond that, I will just note that, you know, Mancini obviously did excellently.

But I am incredibly happy with the work that Paulo Dybala put in.

I, I feel like, Steve, honestly, you and I over the past several months have been basically acting as if Dybala's a dead man walking.

Like, n- no offense to him, he's obviously been one of the most important player for this side over the last five to six years, but his injury issues, his high salary demands have all contributed to a situation where it was not necessarily going to be a situation that Dybala was a guaranteed renewal.

And, you know, I think to a certain extent, he's still not a guaranteed renewal, but he's done a lot of work, in this match especially, to prove himself as still someone who can be a good rotational player in this side.

Is he forever available? Of course not.

But at the same time, I do think that he is showing himself to be a player who can succeed at a top-flight European level, and I think that if Roma's able to have him as someone in their squad moving forward, that's a win for everyone involved.

That's my...

It was the Mancini d- uh, brace two times off corner kicks.

Uh, you know, he enjoyed it as much as anybody 'cause he is probably as close to a Roman as you can be without being Roman-born, the way he's kind of, uh, become a member of this side for so many years and just fights for the crest every week.

And he came through with a big brace.

And, you know, we talked last week about who might drop points elsewhere to, to help Roma out 'cause they were losing on all the tiebreaks with Milan and Juve and those sides.

And I kinda thought it was Milan because they'd been the poorer side in terms of form, and it happened to be Juve who hadn't lost in 10 matches.

Fiorentina, um, did us a favor.

So what'd you guys make of the match against Lazio and, you know, what do you make of the opportunity Roma now has in front of them?

Yeah, I mean, I'll, I'll jump in first and I'll say that this is the best possible situation that Roma could be in, without a doubt.

I mean, was I expecting a Gianluca Mancini brace to be the reason why Roma might get into the Champions League? Definitely not.

Uh, was I expecting Roma to get a red card in this Derby della Capitale and still come out ahead 2-0? Definitely not.

Uh, at the same time, I think there's a lot to be proud of from this match.

I mean, Steve, you and I talked about how, you know...

I mean, it's not like Lazio has been drowning themselves in glory over the past, you know, several months.

But, you know, I mean, it's still a win is a win.

And, uh, you look at the manager head-to-head between Gasperini and Sarri, and it's not necessarily a situation where Gasperini is guaranteed to get a win against him.

Sarri's a great manager, and if you look at the last 23 matches, Gasperini's won eight, there have been eight draws, and Sarri's won seven.

So I, I have to say that I was very happy with this match.

Uh, beyond that, I will just note that, you know, Mancini obviously did excellently.

But I am incredibly happy with the work that Paulo Dybala put in.

I, I feel like, Steve, honestly, you and I over the past several months have been basically acting as if Dybala's a dead man walking.

Like, n- no offense to him, he's obviously been one of the most important player for this side over the last five to six years, but his injury issues, his high salary demands have all contributed to a situation where it was not necessarily going to be a situation that Dybala was a guaranteed renewal.

And, you know, I think to a certain extent, he's still not a guaranteed renewal, but he's done a lot of work, in this match especially, to prove himself as still someone who can be a good rotational player in this side.

Is he forever available? Of course not.

But at the same time, I do think that he is showing himself to be a player who can succeed at a top-flight European level, and I think that if Roma's able to have him as someone in their squad moving forward, that's a win for everyone involved.

That's my...