ROME – At the end of a pulsating encounter, it was Roma who took the spoils. Despite digging deep to level the scores on two occasions, the Nerazzurri will return north to Milan empty handed. Ranocchia and Osvaldo answered Gervinho and Holebas’ openers for Roma, but two goals from Miralem Pjanic secured the points for Rudi Garcia’s side late on.
On a surprisingly warm Roman night, with temperatures hovering around the 20-degree mark, Roberto Mancini set his Inter side up in a solid-looking 4-3-1-2 formation. Campagnaro, Ranocchia, Juan Jesus and Dodo made up a back four, with M’Vila preferred to Kovacic in midfield. Guarin was the man tasked with supplying a front two of Palacio and Osvaldo.
Inter started brightly, again displaying the kind of assured possession that has characterised the early days of Mancini’s second spell in charge of the club. The defence came through their opening test well, blocking Maicon’s cross and making light work of the resulting corner. Two minutes later, Roma had the first real chance of the match. Pjanic swung in a ball from the left, looking for Gervinho. The ball eventually fell to Ljajic, but his shot was deflected wide.
Roma continued to push forward, this time through Nianggolan, whose tricky run drew a rash challenge from Ranocchia. The referee had no choice but to book the Inter captain. Seconds later, a suspiciously offside-looking Gervinho burst through one-on-one with Handanovic. The Ivorian chose to look for Francesco Totti, but Medel was there with a timely challenge.
You could sense a goal on the horizon, and indeed the Giallorossi took the lead on 21 minutes. Maicon and Ljajic combined well on the flank, the latter fizzing a low ball into the box. Gervinho was on his toes and on point to slot home from close range, leaving Handanovic no chance.
It was a wake-up call for Inter, who almost produced the perfect response. A cross from the right wing found Kuzmanovic in the area, but the Serb’s shot was somehow kept out by De Sanctis. The Nerazzurri would get their reward on 35 minutes, however, with Andrea Ranocchia rising highest to power home the first league goal Roma had conceded all season. Soon after, the half-time whistle blew to bring down the curtain on an entertaining first 45 minutes, with Inter in the ascendency.
The players were greeted by rain on their return to the pitch, and Inter were soon behind once more. Holebas beat two defenders to power home an unstoppable strike from the edge of the area. The Nerazzurri were in no mood to lie down, however, and Osvaldo nearly scored a wondergoal to level things once more. The Italian expertly controlled a deep cross on his chest, but he couldn’t quite steer his overhead kick home.
It wasn’t long before Inter were level, though, and it was Osvaldo who converted a dangerous cross to make it 2-2. Sadly, parity was short lived, as Gervinho set off on yet another marauding run down the right flank. His cross found Totti in the box, and though the Roma captain couldn’t steer it home, the ball broke to Pjanic who made no mistake.
Not about to accept defeat, Inter continued to attack. On 67 minutes, Medel forced another tidy save from De Sanctis with a left-footed effort. With Roma slowing the pace of the game right down, Mancini – who’d seen red for his protests in the aftermath of the Roma goal – threw on Icardi and Joel Obi in place of Medel and Dodo.
Roma made a change of their own, with Iturbe relieving Totti. The Argentine was soon involved, spurning a golden opportunity to make it 4-2. The Nerazzurri had one last throw of the dice through Kovacic, whose shot looped dangerously over De Sanctis’ goalmouth. However, all hope was extinguished when Pjanic stepped up to convert an inch-perfect free-kick. The game was up for Inter, who nonetheless can be proud of a battling performance on a tough ground.
ROMA 4-2 INTER
Scorers: Gervinho 21, Ranocchia 36, Holebas 47, Osvaldo 57, Pjanic 60, 90+1.
ROMA: 26 De Sanctis; 13 Maicon, 44 Manolas, 23 Astori, 25 Holebas; 15 Pjanic, 20 Keita (De Rossi 63), 4 Nainggolan; 27 Gervinho, 10 Totti (Iturbe 85), 8 Ljajic (Florenzi 63).
Subs not used: 28 Skorupski, 2 Yanga-Mbiwa, 3 Cole, 6 Strootman, 9 Borriello, 22 Destro, 32 Paredes, 35 Torosidis, 50 Somma, 82 Emanuelson.
Coach: Rudi Garcia
INTER: 1 Handanovic; 14 Campagnaro, 23 Ranocchia, 5 Juan Jesus, 22 Dodo (Icardi 82); 90 M'Vila (Kovacic 66), 18 Medel (Obi 82), 17 Kuzmanovic; 13 Guarin, 7 Osvaldo, 8 Palacio.
Subs not used: 30 Carrizo, 46 Berni, 6 Andreolli, 25 Mbaye, 33 D'Ambrosio, 44 Krhin, 54 Donkor, 97 Bonazzoli.
Coach: Roberto Mancini.
Booked: Ranocchia 16, Keita 44, Palacio 56, Guarin 90.
Sent off: Mancini 62.
Added time: 2+3 minutes.
Referee: Paolo Silvio Mazzoleni (Bergamo).
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LE PAROLE DI MISTER MANCINI POST ROMA INTER
