Despite trailing at the end of the first half to the Giallorossi after scoring the opener, the Nerazzurri demonstrated an immense amount of resilience and mental strength as they completed the comeback to seize a rip-roaring, thrilling 4-2 victory at the Stadio Olimpico.

With the Beneamata possessing a game in-hand on Juventus following the vital 1-0 victory over the Bianconeri in the previous match-week, coach Simone Inzaghi’s side was well aware that attaining all three points would allow Inter to gain a significant advantage in their march towards their 20th Scudetto.

However, the Nerazzurri were fully comprehensive that defeating the Giallorossi would not be an easy task as the capital club were entering the vital match having won their first three matches at the helm of club legend Daniele De Rossi.

Despite facing an aggressive and energetic Giallorossi side under the former Roma skipper, Inter were poised to seal the win following a convincing second half performance, extending their incredible run of form of five wins out of their last five Serie A fixtures, as well as prolonging their unbeaten record away from home in the 2023/24 campaign as they amassed ten wins and two draws on opposing soil.

Coach Simone Inzaghi made no alterations to the lineup that he deployed in the Nerazzurri’s 1-0 victory against coach Massimiliano Allegri’s Juventus in the Derby D’Italia. Inter lined up as follows (3-5-2): Sommer; Bastoni; Acerbi; Pavard; Darmian; Barella; Calhanoglu; Mkhitaryan; Dimarco; Thuram; and Lautaro Martinez.

On the other hand, the hosts made a single change to the starting lineup in their 4-0 victory over Cagliari in the previous match-week. Roma lined up as follows (4-3-3) Patricio; Angelino; Huijsen; Mancini; Karsdorp; Cristante; Paredes; Pellegrini; Dybala; Lukaku; and El Shaarawy.

Roma commenced on the front-foot as they made it difficult for Inter in the opening minutes with their aggressive, front-foot defending and swift circulation of the ball when moving forward. Winger Stephan El Shaarawy seized the first goal-scoring occasion in only two minutes and he cut inside to beat his marker and attempted to curl the ball into the net. Yann Sommer had a perfect read of the shot and performed an incredible save, tipping the ball out for a corner.

Despite the Nerazzurri struggling to make it stick when in-possession with poor touches and sloppy passes, coach Inzaghi’s side portrayed grit and desire as they remained compact defensively and soaked up the pressure from the Giallorossi’s attacking waves.

In the 10th minute of play, Turkish midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu rose to the occasion on a corner as he launched a menacing delivery into the box. Former Inter striker Romelu Lukaku mis-cleared the ball, allowing Francesco Acerbi to capitalize on his error and score a looping header above Rui Patricio and into the back of the net to break the dead-lock.

Although the Biscione obtained the ice-breaking goal, Inter still lacked sharpness and accuracy when attempting to progressively move into the final third of the pitch.

A poor challenge on Argentine Paulo Dybala towards the half hour mark forced the official to hand the Giallorossi a free-kick. Central midfielder Lorenzo Pellegrini delivered a fine cross and found Gianluca Mancini left in the clear by Benjamin Pavard and Matteo Darmian. The Italian defender scored a staggering header past Sommer to hand the capital club the equalizer in the 28th minute of play.

Just as it seemed that Inter were going to head into the locker room maintaining a level score-line, a poor decision in the attacking phase by the Nerazzurri allowed Roma to burst on the counter, enabling Pellegrini to distribute a sublime through ball to El Shaarawy. The winger clearly missed his footing when striking the ball, but his attempt miraculously beat the Swiss custodian as it bounced off both posts and ended up in the back of the net to make it 2-1 for the Giallorossi at the half.

In the second 45, coach Inzaghi’s side regrouped quickly as they made adjustments, resulting in the Nerazzurri possessing the ball with much more accuracy and assertiveness.

In the 49th minute of play, a quickly taken free-kick caught coach De Rossi’s side off guard, enabling a quick-build up towards goal. Matteo Darmian received well-weighted through ball from Nicolo Barella and diced a lo-driven cross along the box for Frenchman Marcus Thuram, allowing the poacher to snatch the equalizer from point-blank range.

Momentum shifted following the leveller as Inter moved forward into Roma’s defensive zone with wind in their sails, combining with slick passing combinations in order to breach the back-line. In the 56th minute of play, Henrik Mkhitaryan was found in between the lines in an area along the flanks and distributed a cross towards Thuram. The French international provoked an error on his marker, resulting in Angelino tapping the ball into his own net for Inter to regain the lead.

Despite Inter seemingly in control throughout the last twenty-five minutes of play, several hiccups occurred as Lukaku was left alone on the break as a result of a counter and Pellegrini had enough time to release the trigger from outside the box. Fortunately for Inter’s sake, Sommer was on-point as he made a lunging save to stop the Giallorossi’s skipper’s venomous striker, and stepped off his line to strip the Belgian marksman off the ball to keep his side a goal ahead.

Despite De Rossi making a flurry of substitutions, Inter remained compact defensively and fended off any posing threats from the capital club. In the dying minutes of the game, Alexis Sanchez and Marko Arnautovic combined on the counter, allowing the Austrian to square the ball to Bastoni along the box whilst on the break. The Italian defender hit the ball one-time into the bottom left-corner, doubling Inter’s lead and launching the Nerazzurri seven points clear of Juventus with the same number of games-played.

Here are our Inter player ratings following the thrilling blockbuster against Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.

Player Ratings

Yann Sommer- 7

Despite the custodian conceding two goals, Sommer was key to the Nerazzurri sealing all three points as he made two vital saves towards the latter stages of the match, allowing Inter to keep their lead intact.

Benjamin Pavard- 6

Although the Frenchman was strong in-possession, Pavard made a fatal mistake as Mancini was left in the clear towards the second post when Pellegrini’s free-kick was delivered into the box, allowing the Giallorossi to seal the equalizer.

Francesco Acerbi-7

The 36-year-old was solid in the back as his decision-making and timing was on point, and he scored an impressive header to hand his side an early lead on his 36th birthday today.

Alessandro Bastoni-7

The 23-year-old defender was a pillar in the back-three today as he made impeccable challenges and executed line-breaking passes in the second half. Bastoni also made an impressive run on the counter towards the end of the game and finished it off to perfection with an exquisite one-time finish to put the dagger in the hearts of the Giallorossi.

Matteo Darmian- 6.5

The right wing-back was impressive this evening as he had some great first touches and was reliable defensively. However, it is evident that he is beginning to be warned out after having been deployed as a wing-back for countless of consecutive games.

Nicolo Barella-5.5

The central midfielder had an off cameo this evening as his decision making and passing accuracy in the final third of the pitch was really poor, despite his relentless work-rate to win the ball back defensively.

Hakan Calhanoglu- 6.5

Although it was not the Turkish international’s best performance, Hakan still provided his side with stability in the second half of the game through the use of his sharp passes and tactical awareness.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan- 6.5

Despite a poor first half, the former Roma midfielder caused havoc in the central area of the pitch with his footwork and pace when on the counter. The 35-year-old delivered a fine cross in the box to help Inter regain the lead following a deflection off of Giallorossi full-back Angelino.

Federico Dimarco- 6.5

The Italian wing-back was strong defensively as he used his physicality to avoid getting beat out-wide on several occasions. In addition, Dimarco posed a threat when in-possession along the flank, fearless to take on his marker. However, the 25-year-old was responsible for some poorly hit shots on goal and some underwhelming crosses.

Marcus Thuram- 6.5

Despite a poor first half where the Frenchman was struggling to get involved, Thuram found his stride in the second half as he combined well with his back facing goal and made a perfectly timed run to help the Nerazzurri attain an early equalizer in the second half. Moreover,Thuram worked hard off the ball as he constantly applied pressure, provoking Angelino into scoring an own-goal.

Lautaro Martinez- 6

Whilst Lautaro struggled to drop in between the pockets and find goal-scoring positions this evening, the Argentine worked hard defensively as he won the ball high up the pitch and used his strength well to play as a hold-up striker when his back was facing goal.

Substitutes

Carlos Augusto- 6

Was solid defensively when entering the pitch to replace Dimarco

Stefan De Vrij- 6.5

Replaced an injured Acerbi early in the second half and was fearless when stepping into challenges against the opposition. Made key interceptions to avoid any goal-scoring opportunities.

Marko Arnautovic- 6.5

Played well as a hold-up striker and dispatched a brilliant pass to set up Bastoni to double Inter’s lead over Roma in the final remaining minutes of play.

Denzel Dumfries- 6

Was strong defensively when the Nerazzurri needed to remain intact in order to see out the remainder of the game with a one-goal lead.

Alexis Sanchez- N/A