Roma’s perfect start to the season faces its biggest challenge today. While there’s certainly no shame in rolling past the likes of Fiorentina and Lecce with relative ease, they’re not the type of victories on which championship aspirations are built. Gian Piero Gasperini’s group passed its first legitimacy test with a 2-1 come-from-behind win over Atalanta, but today’s fixture against Inter Milan is an entirely different animal.
Led by former Roma defender Cristian Chivu, who picked up right where
former manager Simone Inzaghi left off, the Nerazzurri have reclaimed their spot at the top of the Serie A throne in recent years, winning three of the past six league titles. Perhaps even more impressive, Inter has reached the Champions League final twice in the past four seasons.
Any way you slice it, Inter are the cream of the calcio crop and will provide Gasperini and Roma with their stiffest test yet. A victory at the Olimpico today won’t decide the Scudetto race, but it will lend legitimacy to Roma’s early-season title ambitions and let us know whether or not we’re free to dream.
