In the Rome derby between AS Roma and Lazio, Alessio Romagnoli scored the first goal for Lazio with a header from Luca Pellegrini’s cross, but Soule equalized with a powerful left-footed strike from outside the box that hit the crossbar and went in, resulting in a 1-1 draw.

Ranieri said after the match: “It could have been better, it could have been worse. In the first half, we sat too deep, and I didn’t like that. We needed our wingers to push forward and press Lazio’s full-backs, but instead, we kept allowing them to advance. It was a tense derby, as it always is. Lazio had more scoring opportunities, we had fewer, but I’ll take this one point.”

Soule, who had not been particularly impressive for Roma for a long time, especially after Paulo Dybala’s injury, now seems to be playing with more confidence.

Ranieri said: “If he starts playing from the wings, he can take the leadership of Roma, but in the first half, we didn’t get the ball to him well enough.
We needed him to take on his defender after a cross, but we were too slow, and that gave Lazio the chance to double-mark him. He was more influential in the second half.
Soule is a quality player, he scores well, and the future belongs to him because he has all the attributes to flourish. Tonight, I saw Roma’s future in him.”

Dybala, who will be out until at least September due to surgery, insisted on sitting on Roma’s bench in the Derby della Capitale to be with his teammates.

Ranieri said: “He was a leader on the field, he is a leader in the locker room, and now, unfortunately, he is a leader who doesn’t play but is always with the boys.”

Ranieri is determined to retire this summer, thus ending his coaching career with an impressive record: no defeats in the Derby della Capitale as a coach.

He said: “I thought about it before the game and now after it, but during the match, it didn’t really cross my mind. I’m a man of few words, I can only say that as a Roman, it’s amazing for me to retire unbeaten in these derbies. Of course, I would have preferred to end with a win, but in sports and life, you can’t have everything, you have to accept it.
Above all, I will miss the Stadio Olimpico when it’s full. All the players who are at Roma will miss it too because it fills you with emotion, excitement, and motivation. We coaches just have to try to minimize our mistakes and help the players in tough moments.”