Another trip to the capital, another opportunity missed for Inter
The Nerazzurri headed to the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday evening looking to secure a first league win over Roma since Zlatan Ibrahimovic inspired them to a 4-0 drubbing in 2008. It is a similar story across the city, with Inter picking up only a solitary win in six visits to Lazio.
Sunday saw the Giallorossi run out 2-1 winners, after the pair served up a thrilling spectacle, and go into the international break holding a Champions League qualifying spot.
However, Inter will be left ruing the chance to put pressure on runaway leaders Juventus and take advantage of Napoli’s earlier slip-up against Atalanta.
The Nerazzurri have been uninspiring all season, and barring a fine 2-1 victory over the Bianconeri, have shown little to suggest they are a genuine threat. Having come into Sunday’s clash on the back of a poor home draw against Bologna and European humiliation at the hands of Sparta Prague, now was the time to step up. Perhaps somewhat predictably, that didn’t happen.
As has so often been the case this season, Franck De Boer’s outfit were slow out of the blocks and were duly punished for it. Edin Dzeko’s early goal meant that the Biscione have conceded first in all but one of their nine games so far this campaign.
Such a shocking statistic will need to be addressed as soon as possible if Inter hope to achieve anything of note this season. No team worth its salt can genuinely expect to go on to greatness if it needs to play catch-up every time it takes to the pitch.
In fairness to the visitors, they did step up a gear after a sluggish first 20 minutes, but as with a number of their performances this term, were let down by a combination of a lack of clinical finishing and poor defending.
Captain Mauro Icardi was anonymous, having been kept under wraps by the imperious Kostas Manolas in the heart of Roma’s defence, whilst Lazio old-boy Antonio Candreva was wasteful on his return to Rome.
At the back, Inter looked like crumbling every time the Giallorossi launched an attack, with the sheer pace of Mohamed Salah and Diego Perotti causing no end of trouble for full-backs Davide Santon and debutant Cristian Ansaldi.
Santon in particular was often caught out of position by Salah and was run ragged by the Egyptian in the first half, though he was not helped by the sloppy display of Miranda.
It is the same issues that are rearing their head for Inter, and De Boer must find a way to solidify his back line as it continues to be exposed.
For all of the Nerazzurri’s faults, it was still a huge win for Roma and the ramifications may be long-lasting. The Lupi are talented but combustible; as likely to secure a slick and stylish win as they are to collapse and let their heads drop.
Previous fixtures this season have seen the mentality of Luciano Spalletti’s side called into question, particularly after they lost their heads in August’s crucial Champions League play-off tie against Porto. Elsewhere, Roma let slip a two-goal lead to draw against new boys Cagliari, whilst were picked apart by Torino last weekend.
Thus, one might be forgiven for thinking that Ever Banega’s equaliser for Inter late on might derail Roma’s performance and heads would sink. Instead, the capital club refused to settle for the point and snatched victory courtesy of Manolas’ deflected header.
The determination on show spoke of a never-say-die attitude that will be crucial if Roma are to mount any kind of title challenge, and gives them the perfect platform to go into an away clash at Napoli after the international break.
To their credit, Inter arrived at the Stadio Olimpico looking to attack, but this played into Roma’s hands perfectly. The Giallorossi soaked up pressure and hit on the counter with such speed that their opponents did not know what had hit them and, had Salah brought his shooting boots, could have been a few goals clear by half-time.
Herein lies the problem for Roma. When their defence is on form, as it was on Sunday, they can be one of the finest counter-attacking teams in Europe. This can work perfectly against the bigger teams, but it is when they are tasked with unlocking more defensive sides that they often come unstuck.
Nonetheless, both sides can take positives from the match, regardless of the result. Roma built on a 4-0 thrashing of Astra Giurgiu in midweek and ground out a fine victory, with Manolas proving his class once again. Spalletti will also be pleased to see his preferred front three of Dzeko, Salah, and Perotti start to really click, with the former on five goals already this term.
For Inter, the defeat will certainly smart but goalscorer Banega showed once again that he could turn out to be the signing of the season. The former Sevilla man was all-action and a menace from range and in the box, as well as providing much-needed balance to the midfield.
With a fortnight until their next match, Inter can now focus on getting the basics sorted and salvaging something from their season.
