Goals from Denzel Dumfries, Marcelo Brozovic, and Lautaro Martinez powered Inter to a highly significant victory against Roma on Saturday evening.
It was not a great start, as both teams took a conservative approach during the initial phase. Then came the push from Inter. Following Gianluca Mancini’s misplaced header at the other end, Dumfries exposed Nicola Zalewski with his blistering pace. A string of one-touch passes helped the Dutchman break the offside and draw the first blood against Jose Mourinho’s men.
A few minutes later, Brozovic’s charismatic run down the left caught the whole Roma defence in an awkward position. A right-footed curler from the Croat beat Rui Patricio to become one of the most dazzling goals of the weekend. Inter went into the break with a 2-0 lead.
Martinez added some more misery to Roma’s fortune with his header from the corner kick in the 52nd-minute of the game. Mkhitaryan pulled one back for Giallorossi, but it was not enough. However, Roma ended the game on a high note.
With Jose Mourinho missing out on three points, Roma stay fifth with 58 points from 34 games. Saturday’s defeat to Inter put an end to Roma’s 12-match unbeaten run in Serie A. Inter climb up to the top of the table with 72 points from 34 games.
Inter XI (3-5-2): Handanovič (6); Dumfries (8), Škriniar (7.5), De Vrij (7), Dimarco (6.5); Brozović (8.5), Barella (6), Çalhanoğlu (6.5), Perišić (6.5); Džeko (6), Lautaro Martínez (7.5)
Substitutes: Bastoni (6), Correa (5.5), Gosens (N/A), Gagliardini (N/A), Sanchez (N/A)
Roma (3-4-2-1): Rui Patrício (5.5); Mancini (5), Smalling (5), Ibáñez (5); Karsdorp (5), Sérgio Oliveira (6), Mkhitaryan (7), Zalewski (4); Pellegrini (5.5), El Shaarawy (5); Abraham (5)
Substitutes: Perez (6), Veretout (5.5), Vina (5.5), Shomurodov (6), Bove (N/A)
