The Borneo Post

Totti fires defiant derby warning to Lazio

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MILAN: Club legend Francesco Totti has fired a defiant message to Lazio ahead of a capital derby that could help Roma claim the second automatic Champions League spot in Serie A.

Even if the 40-year-old talisman can only hope for a cameo role, he said Roma are out to stretch their run of derby league wins to five in succession on their way to beating Napoli to a top-two finish.

“The derby? It’s like all the others: it’s there to win, because on the pitch we want to destroy them,” Totti said at the unveiling of his new brand of Nike football boots in the Italian capital.

Totti, who is expected to end his storied career at the end of the current season, added: “We’re all relaxed at the moment, we’ve got a four-point lead (on Napoli) and there are few games left.”

Roma, though, face AC Milan, away, then Juventus at home after hosting Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday at an early kick-off time of 1030 GMT. Roma’s 4-1 romp at Pescara last week kept Luciano Spalletti’s men in second spot in Serie A, although with an eight-point deficit to Juventus they have virtually conceded the title with five games remaining. Yet the win also ended with a spat between Spalletti and Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko, who launched a tirade at the Italian when he was replaced with 20 minutes remaining.

Dzeko is tied with Torino striker Andrea Belotti on 25 goals at the top of the Serie A goals charts and is determined to win the ‘Capocannon­iere’ award.

Unconf i rmed repor t s on Thursday linked the “unhappy” Bosnian with a move to AC Milan, claims that Dzeko’s agent, Irfan Redzepagic, later played down.

“Regarding Edin, I can say that he is playing very well at Roma and is very happy to be playing for the Gialloross­i. I know nothing of other transfer rumours,” he was reported as saying by LaRoma24.it.

The news comes amid persistent reports that Spalletti, who has yet to win a trophy with Roma in what is his second spell at the club, will quit at the end of the season.

Roma will also be keeping a close eye on what happens at the San Siro later on Sunday when an Inter Milan side desperate to salvage a fading challenge for a Europa League place host Maurizio Sarri’s well-oiled Napoli side. — AFP

 ??  ?? Roma’s Edin Dzeko (centre) vies with Pescara goalkeeper Vincenzo Fiorillo during the Italian Serie A match at the Adriatico Stadium in Pescara, in this April 24 file photo. — AFP photo
Roma’s Edin Dzeko (centre) vies with Pescara goalkeeper Vincenzo Fiorillo during the Italian Serie A match at the Adriatico Stadium in Pescara, in this April 24 file photo. — AFP photo

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