5 Things we learnt from Inter’s second half comeback against Roma

1. The heart of champions pulls Inter through yet again. This team just never knows when they are beaten and for the third game in a row in the Serie A come from behind to get something out of the game, Roma absolutely flew out of the gates and opened the scoring in just the sixth minute as Dybala floated the ball to the back-post for Molina who headed the ball back across for Manu Kone who’s low effort found a way past Martinez to put the home side 1-0 up. From there the first half was like a basketball match with both teams creating chances at will with Bisseck and Lautaro Martinez missing huge chances for Inter in the first half, as always Roma looked so dangerous going forward and in the 37th minute doubled their lead as Dybala chipped the ball over the Inter defence for Mancini who’s miskick fell straight to Manu Kone to get his second of the game. The linesman put up his flag for offside but upon review the VAR saw that Mancini’s miskick actually went behind him so Manu Kone couldn’t have been offside thus awarding Roma the goal, with Inter’s recent antics in matches you knew there was going to be a response and it took just 48 seconds from the restart for Chivu’s side to get a goal back as Thuram cut the ball back to Lautaro Martinez who sort of scuffed his finish past Svilar but it didn’t matter as Inter were back in the game. From there the game took a similar path to the first half with both teams creating huge chances with Malen forcing a miraculous save from Martinez and Inter somehow not scoring from a corner with Svilar making a ridiculous save before Thuram hit the bar with the follow-up as Inter pushed for the equaliser, an equaliser which came in the 78th minute as Carlos Augusto’s cross was firstly missed by Lautaro falling to Thuram who’s touch came straight back to the Argentinian who slammed the ball past Svilar to make it 2-2. From there both sides seemed happy enough with a draw which was a shame for the neutral but still doesn’t answer who the title favourites are in Italy, it’s still hard to look past Inter.

2. Definitely a point gained for the champions. It seems to be a pattern that’s forming for Inter so far this season that they continue to start games slowly and that was the case once again today heading into half-time 2-0 down, in all fairness I’m not quite sure how Inter didn’t score in the first half creating numerous clear-cut chances that easily could have had them ahead at the break but they were just falling to the wrong people Lautaro aside in the first half. Defensively Inter have been quite poor to start the season now conceding 8 goals in 5 games but going forward they continue to be the best team in Italy which is saving them game after game, after coming back against Napoli and Udinese in the last two weeks you knew Inter weren’t going to lie down in the second half and Lautaro clearly took that first half miss to heart with two brilliant finishes to get his side a point at the Olimpico. My worry so far for Inter this season defence aside has been the midfield which has yet to click when Hakan Calhanoglu isn’t playing, Curtis Jones hasn’t quite made the impact Chivu would have hoped yet whilst I think Nicolo Barella’s level seems to be dropping year after year. Zielinski is good on the ball but physically is simply nowhere near the level that we saw from Manu Kone today who by some distance the best midfielder on the park even without those two goals, I thought Inter improved with Petar Sucic on the pitch in the second half but Chivu has been reluctant to start him for whatever reason. Overall it’s certainly a point gained for Inter but they have to start games better going forward as this run of comebacks isn’t sustainable long-term in my opinion.

3. A game of two halves for Roma and Gasperini. This game was a real chance for Roma to put the gauntlet down to Inter that they are real challengers for the title this season and they so nearly did it but just came up short in the second half, whilst I thought they were the better team in the first 45 you could feel that Inter were going to score at some point with the chances they were creating which had to be a worry for Gasperini at half-time despite leading 2-0. He would have been aware of Inter’s capability to comeback in the second half which would have made it all the more annoying with it just taking 48 seconds for Inter to score in the second half, from there though Roma did threaten and were so unlucky not to add a third with some brilliant footwork from Malen leading to a volley which smashed off Josep Martinez’s head from about two yards out. The Inter equaliser felt inevitable and did eventually come with ten minutes go but a draw certainly isn’t the end of the world for this Roma side who still sit top of the league, Gasperini has turned this side into a really top team over the last year and I think it would be great for the Serie A if they could challenge for the league this year. Whether they can sustain this run of results remains to be seen but I don’t see why not.

4. Roma’s season hinges on Paulo Dybala’s fitness level. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that when he’s fully fit Dybala is the best player in the Serie A, unfortunately over the past few years he’s really struggled with injuries but he’s started the first five matches in the Serie A so far for Roma this season so here’s hoping he can stay fit for the full season. I think he showed today just what a quality player he still is at the heart of both goals with two brilliant passes over the top of the Inter backline, he started his career as a striker but as the years have gone on he’s dropped into an attacking midfielder role and with Gasperini is on the right of a front three which I think really suits him. Although he hasn’t scored yet this season he has four assists in the first five games so he’s clearly having a huge impact on the team which is scoring goals anyway through Malen, Soule, Kone etc. At only 32 years old he still has so much left to give to the game which makes it all the more surprising that Scaloni has left him out of the Argentina squad for this month, not that I think Roma fans or Gasperini will mind too much. Can Dybala fire Roma to a league title this season under Gasperini? I really do hope so.

5. Where does this result leave both teams? A draw means that we basically are at the same point we were before the match with Roma top of the league but level on points with Inter and Lazio who have started the season really well under Sarri, Como can also go level on top if they beat Frosinone tomorrow so there could be four teams level on points at the top of the league heading into the international break which would be quite exciting. We have a long break ahead so I’ll have reviews of how the top teams have started this season rolling out over the international break, I’ll have Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid and Fulham vs Manchester United up tomorrow hopefully.