Roma once again showed signs of genuine title credentials but were unable to hold on to a two-goal advantage as champions Inter fought back to draw 2-2 at the Stadio Olimpico, with Lautaro Martínez continuing his remarkable record against Gian Piero Gasperini.
Manu Koné, an unlikely source of goals for Roma, struck twice in the opening 37 minutes to give the hosts control. His first arrived in the sixth minute, sweeping home after Nahuel Molina headed down a Paulo Dybala cross. His second, initially ruled out for offside before being awarded following a VAR review, came from another Dybala delivery, this time helped on by Gianluca Mancini.
Roma had chances to extend their lead further, with Martínez missing an open goal from close range and Alessandro Bastoni striking the post, but those let-offs proved costly. Just moments into the second half, Martínez combined with Marcus Thuram, releasing him down the left before sprinting through the middle to convert the return pass with a clinical finish between three defenders.
Inter pushed for an equaliser and were denied initially by a superb reflex save from Roma goalkeeper Mile Svilar to deny Thuram's header from a corner. Martínez then nodded the rebound against the crossbar before finally levelling the score in the 79th minute.
The result marked the fourth consecutive match in which Inter had fallen two goals behind, and the third time in that run they avoided defeat, having also come from such deficits to beat Napoli and Udinese this month.
Gasperini could not hide his amusement at Martínez's habit of scoring against his teams. "He always scores against me," the Roma coach said. "I told him to stop it! He does it to everyone, though. He's a great champion, everyone thinks very highly of him, even if he makes all of us suffer." According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Martínez remains unbeaten in 17 matches against Gasperini-managed sides, with 12 wins, five draws and 11 goals scored.
Inter manager Cristian Chivu was more critical of his side's slow starts, choosing to focus solely on the improved second-half display. "I'm going to talk about the second half, because the things I had to say about the first will stay between me and the team," he said afterwards.
Roma's own pattern of conceding early in the second half continued, as it did in matches against Atalanta and Fenerbahce earlier this season. Gasperini had previously joked about the trend using an Agatha Christie reference, suggesting that a third such occurrence would confirm it as more than coincidence.
Despite the dropped points, Gasperini remained upbeat about his team's progress, pointing to the quality of their attacking trio of Dybala, Matías Soulé and teenager Rodrigo Mora, as well as Donyell Malen, who has scored six league goals this season despite not finding the net against Inter. Malen did strike the crossbar in the second half, forcing a smart save from Inter goalkeeper Josep Martínez.
"We need to keep our focus on our own business," Gasperini said when asked about Roma's title prospects. "We need to take this awareness that, in the right conditions, we can be a really good, dangerous team." He added: "We played Inter when they are in peak condition. Maybe, over the course of a season, it won't always be that way."
The draw leaves Roma and Inter level on points at the top of Serie A after five rounds, though question marks remain over both sides—Roma's defensive resilience under pressure and Inter's tendency to fall behind early, even as their squad depth continues to prove valuable off the bench.
Based on reporting from The Guardian.