Coming out of the latest international break, Roma found themselves in an unusual position: at the top of the table. While Gian Piero Gasperini’s attack struggled mightily through the first six rounds
of play, thanks to a suffocating defense, the Giallorossi were riding high, sharing the league lead with Antonio Conte’s Napoli side. After seeing their Southern rivals fall to Torino earlier in the day, Gasperini’s group had the chance to claim sole possession of first place with a win over second-place Inter Milan.
While Gasperini made a few tweaks to his usual starting lineup, using Paulo Dybala as a false nine and starting Lorenzo Pellegrini, Evan Ndicka, and Wesley on the right, the capital club still had enough strength at the back to battle Christian Chivu’s league-best attack.
And just in case your Roma Happened radar wasn’t pinging like crazy, let’s run that back:
- First match out of the break
- Playing at home against a hated rival
- A chance to claim first place all their own
- The manager making some subtle but questionable changes to his lineup
Even for the optimists among us, that was hard to ignore, but you knew where this match was headed…
In just the sixth minute of the match, Inter Milan put an early and dispiriting end to Roma’s quest for first place, breaking the Giallorossi’s spirit after only 360 seconds on the pitch. With Ange Yoan-Bonny beating the offside trap by a hair’s breadth, the French phenom found nothing but open space in front of him as he charged toward Mile Svilar’s goal. Evan Ndicka did well to catch Bonny from behind, and while Svilar seemed to have the near post well covered, he reacted a split second too late, conceding an early and deflating goal.
Roma spent the ensuing 39 minutes doing little of note other than taking up space on the pitch. After Bonny’s goal, Roma held 56% of the ball but only had three attempts on goal: a poorly placed effort from Pellegrini in the middle of the box in the 11th minute, a Bryan Cristante header in the 12th minute that narrowly went over the crossbar before landing in the top netting, and an almost point-blank miss from Ndicka in the 26th minute.
While Roma did well to prevent any more goals in the first half, they went into the locker room with their tails between their legs and a huge challenge ahead of them: continue to stem th Inter tide and find a way to create a little noise in the final third.
Thanks to a few key changes and an improved effort by the attack (including Leon Bailey’s club debut), Roma generated an impressive 12 shots on goal in the second half. However, luck wasn’t on their side tonight. From the attempts that hit the side netting to those saved by Yan Sommer to those that died in the grass, and even the ones that didn’t cut the mustard (we’re looking at you, Artem), this was a typically frustrating Roma performance—one we’ve seen too many times to count.
Still, despite conceding an early and demoralizing goal, it must be said: Roma hung with Inter every step of the way in the second half, controlling possession and outshooting Inter 12 to 6. In the end, Roma’s good intentions weren’t enough to topple the Nerazzurri, who have been undefeated against Roma at the Stadio Olimpico in their last nine visits, including four straight wins.
Final Thoughts
As depressing and predictable as this defeat was, let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Roma are still adjusting to life under Gian Piero Gasperini and have a few glaring weaknesses that may not be addressed until next summer’s transfer market. Still, here we are, seven matches into the season, and the Giallorossi are in the top four and should have the mettle to remain in the race to the bitter end.
The problem, as today’s match made acutely aware, is that they have no margin for error. A poorly placed shot, an almost save, or even an offside trap that’s tick too soon can doom the Giallorossi to defeat.
Up Next
It’s back to Europe as Roma hosts their old pals Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League on Thursday.
