Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri admits he was able to joke with Jose Mourinho after their 0-0 draw with AS Roma.

Both teams played out a stalemate at the Olimpico on Sunday.

“We are growing in tactical terms, rediscovering solidity, improving our character too, we just need to be as dangerous going forward as we were last season," Sarri told DAZN.

“This is the most passionate derby in Italy, so that is a difficult situation. When you cannot win, you need to not lose. We had the best scoring opportunities and overall performance.

“We need to attack the penalty area with more consistency and quantity. These aren't really our characteristics, we have lost that ability to get bodies into the box.

“I am disappointed to see the pitch in this condition, as it really becomes difficult to play football and the turf is not up to the standards of these two teams. It is especially damaging for those like us who try to play out from the back."

Sarri has lost only one of his five editions of the Derby della Capitale, winning three, but this is the third consecutive clean sheet in that fixture.

On his relationship with Roma coach Mourinho, Sarri continued: “We had already crossed paths before the game. I told him: 'You are a right pain in the butt'. He replied: 'For that matter so are you'.

“I don't like dealing with Mourinho the media character, but Mourinho the person is great."

He added, “We must focus on stabilising our performances, then the results will arrive as a consequence of that. If this is the character I saw today, we are destined to climb back up."