A goal down and his team showing little signs of a pulse, Roma Coach Claudio Ranieri, derided in some circles as the Tinkerman, did what he appears to do best — he tinkered with his lineup.

Out came two of Roma’s biggest stars — the Rome natives Francesco Totti and Daniele De Rossi — replaced by Jérémy Menez and Rodrigo Taddei. Minutes later, it looked like Ranieri’s scheme was about to explode in his face as Lazio’s Sergio Floccari’s stepped up to take penalty kick that could have made the score 2-0. But his spot kick was saved by the trailing leg of Roma goalkeeper Julio Sergio. That opened the door for the Giallorossi in the always contentious Rome derby at the Olympic Stadium.

Tommaso Rocchi gave Lazio the lead in the game’s first 15 minutes. Early in the second half, Aleksandar Kolarov committed the foul that provided Roma’s striker from Montenegro, Mirko Vucinic, the opportunity to score the equalizer in the 53rd minute. Ten minutes later, it was Vucinic, Roma’s leading goal-scorer this season, who thundered a free kick past Lazio’s Uruguayan keeper Néstor Fernando Muslera for the game winner.

“It’s the most beautiful thing that exists in football,” Vucinic told Sky TV after the match. “With my two goals I’m even happier.”

Roma continued its unbeaten run in Italy’s Serie A, extending its streak to 24 league games without a loss dating to Nov. 1. The win also vaulted Roma over Inter Milan into first place after Sunday’s game. Each team has four matches remaining in the Serie A season. Inter spent two days in first place after it’s 2-0 win over Juventus on Friday that included a highlight-reel goal by the Brazilian Maicon.

Roma leads Inter by 1 point. Inter has a date on Tuesday at the San Siro (a k a Giuseppe Meazza Stadium) against visiting Barcelona in the first leg of their semifinal series in the UEFA Champions League.