ITALY, January 12 – Francesco Totti celebrated scoring twice by taking a selfie on the pitch as Roma battled back from two down to secure a 2-2 draw against their city rivals, Lazio.
A dominant first-half display saw the Biancoceleste take control with goals from the captain Stefano Mauri and Felipe Anderson but Totti scored twice in the second half – followed by his unusual celebration – to spare blushes at the Stadio Olimpico.
A typically cagey opening was broken after 12 minutes when Lazio had the first sight of goal.
A crossfield pass from Marco Parolo fell to Antonio Candreva on the left side of the area, and the midfielder quickly switched feet before firing across the box – but his effort trickled wide.
Parolo then tried his luck eight minutes later with a dipping shot which was smothered by the Roma goalkeeper Morgan de Sanctis.
Lazio made the breakthrough after 25 minutes and it was no less than they deserved.
Anderson lifted a perfect delivery into the area for Mauri, who had timed his run expertly, to slot home from close range.
Just four minutes later they visitors were two goals to the good, thanks to the same pairing. This time it was the Lazio captain Mauri who flicked the ball into the path of his team-mate, with the Brazilian finding the bottom-right corner with a delightful shot.
Roma had been nothing short of woeful but they were much more aggressive in the second half, and pulled a goal back within three minutes of the restart.
Kevin Strootman, one of two players introduced for the second half, made an immediate impact with a left-foot cross to the back post where an unmarked Totti was waiting to sidefoot home. It was the veteran’s first league goal since 18 October.
Roma could have been level after 52 minutes through a powerful left-foot drive from Juan Iturbe which was tipped over the bar by the goalkeeper Federico Marchetti.
Mauri was denied the chance to restore Lazio’s two-goal lead after 58 minutes when his first-time shot rebounded off the right post before Totti brought the home fans to their feet six minutes later with the equaliser.
Jose Holebas whipped a cross in to the far post, where the veteran was waiting to hook the ball into the net. The captain’s then took a selfie on the Stadio Olimpico pitch using a phone handed to him by a member of Roma’s staff.
That goal appeared to knock the wind out of Lazio’s sails, but Roma also seemed content with a draw, and the game appeared to be winding down. Lazio could have snatched the points in the dying seconds but a point-blank shot from the substitute Miroslav Klose was pushed away by De Sanctis.
The point was not enough to move Roma to the top of the Serie A table, but the second placed Giallorossi are now level on points with Juventus, who have a game in hand. Lazio are third, nine points behind their city rivals.