Yesterday’s top-of-the-table clash against Inter Milan was billed as a litmus test for Roma; a sort of check-in point for the Giallorossi’s title ambitions. After starting the new season with a perfect 4-0 record, many hailed Gian Piero Gasperini’s group as an early-season title contender. There’s nothing wrong with proclamations like that, but aside from Atalanta, Roma’s September schedule wasn’t exactly stacked with heavyweights, so it felt a bit unwarranted.
Still, with Roma playing the best football
in the league, a home fixture against the defending champions was the perfect opportunity for the Giallorossi to prove they belong in the Scudetto conversation, and for most of Saturday afternoon, they did precisely that. Beginning the second half with a two-nil lead, Roma was ready to issue a statement to Serie A: the league was theirs for the taking.
However, instead of wresting three points from the reigning champions, Roma dropped their guard and ultimately conceded points in a disappointing 2-2 draw, turning this Scudetto litmus test into a different benchmark entirely, one that measures the value of a moral victory.
Defeating Inter Milan in an early-season clash would have boosted Roma’s title ambitions, but Scudetti aren’t won in September. So how, then, does one digest Saturday’s results: Was it an opportunity wasted or a valuable point secured?
We’ll have to wait several months before we can definitively answer that question, but we can still pass out some halos and sharpen our pitchforks in the wake of yesterdays draw with Inter Milan.
The Saints
Manu Koné
Aside from Inter hero Lautaro Martinez, Koné was by far the best player on the pitch on Saturday. While the French midfielder handled business in the middle of the park, pressing and harassing the Nerazzurri into submission, Koné shined in the final third: Two touches in the opposition box, two shots on target, and two goals. It doesn’t get much more efficient than that.
Paulo Dybala
While La Joya wasn’t directly involved in either of Roma’s goals, Dybala registered secondary assists on both of Koné’s strikes, proving yet again how pivotal he remains to Gasperini’s attacking schemes. All told, the 32-year-old maestro provided an impressive seven key passes to go along with six balls into the final third and three accurate crosses.
And unfortunately, that’s it for the brightspots…
The Sinners
Gianluca Mancini
After a star turn against Torino last week, Mancini turned in a clunker against Cristian Chivu’s side. While Mancini’s stats were mostly fine against Inter, his post-match epitaph was written in the 46th minute. As Roma cycled possession deep in the attacking third, the Nerazzurri deflected an out-swinging Wesley cross back toward the edge of the 18-yard box, which eventually fell at Mancini’s feet.
While Mancini had no choice but to turn and chase the ball away from the Inter goal, he dribbled himself right into Marcus Thuram, who was happy to oblige the Italian international by stripping the ball and jump-starting a counterattack that halved Roma’s lead, setting the stage for the capital club’s collapse.
Daniele Ghilardi/Evan Ndicka (And Gasperini indirectly)
In all my years covering Roma, I can’t recall a time when the club swapped out its entire backline in a single match. While a minor injury to Leonardo Balerdi forced Gasperini’s hand, he did exactly that, using three of his five changes on central defenders. We’ll cut Konstantinos Koulierakis a break since he played fewer than 10 minutes, but Gasp’s first two changes, Ghilardi and Ndicka, failed to stem the rising tide of Inter’s second-half comeback.
We’ve certainly covered more egregious calcio sins in these spaces, but Gasperini’s defensive changes failed to subdue Inter’s eventual comeback, leaving everyone with egg on their face.
Stuck In Between
Neither sinner nor saint, these guys still warranted a quick mention.
Leonardo Balerdi
The Franco Baresi comparisons may have been far-fetched, but it’s hard not to get excited about Roma’s newest center-back. The Argentine backed up a solid performance against Torino with an impressive 66-minute run against Inter, showcasing the same grinta that is quickly making him a fan favorite: closing down space, jumping passing lanes, and chasing down pacy wingers from behind.
Donyell Malen
For only the second time this season, the Dutch forward failed to register a goal or an assist but the man affectionately known as Bobby was a Josep Martínez accidental face save away from putting the match to bed in the 68th minute. In addition to that near miss, Malen took three shots on goal and created three scoring chances in 90 minutes.
Matías Soulé
While he wasn’t quite as sharp as Dybala, Roma’s other Argentinian winger was still a thorn in Inter’s side for most of the evening. Soulé registered two shots on goal, six touches in the opposition box, three successful dribbles, four duels won, and five recoveries.
Nahuel Molina
He looked a bit erratic at times, but Molina turned in one of the best performances of his still-young Roma career. In 60 minutes, Molina managed one shot on goal, played four balls into the final third, and created two scoring chances, including the assist on Koné’s 6th-minute goal. He also showcased a bit of versatility last night, starting on the left, allowing Wesley to momentarily return to his more natural right-sided role.
That’s it for now, but we’ll see you back in these spaces after the international break!
