Martínez delivers as Inter claw back a point in Rome
Inter showed their championship resolve in the most dramatic way possible at the Stadio Olimpico, coming from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Roma in a match that had early control, sudden momentum swings, and a decisive late equaliser. Lautaro Martínez was the difference-maker, scoring twice to rescue a point for the Serie A champions.
The result came in a clash between two sides that had entered the evening with perfect league records, and for long stretches Roma looked set to make the statement. Instead, Inter’s response after the break, and Martínez’s trademark ruthless finishing, turned a difficult night into one that still felt like a warning to the rest of the title race.
Roma strike early and Koné takes centre stage
Roma made the brighter start and were ahead inside six minutes, when Manu Koné reacted well to fire home after a knockdown from Nahuel Molina. The hosts did not let up from there, pressing with confidence and unsettling Inter’s back line with pace and direct running.
Paulo Dybala also threatened to extend the lead, and although Inter gradually settled, they never truly looked comfortable in the first half. The pressure told again in the 37th minute when Koné struck a second time, this time from close range at the far post after the assistant’s initial flag was overturned by a VAR review.
Roma’s second goal felt like a major turning point. They had not only taken control of the scoreboard, but also built the kind of cushion that often forces even the strongest teams to chase the game in a different way.
First-half momentum
| Team | Goals | Key scorer |
|---|---|---|
| Roma | 2 | Manu Koné |
| Inter | 0 | None |
Inter, though, have already shown this season that they are rarely fully beaten while the game remains alive. Cristian Chivu’s side had recovered from being 2-0 down against Udinese earlier in the week and had gone on to win 5-3, so there was at least some recent proof that a comeback was possible.
Martínez changes the mood after the interval
The visitors wasted little time after the restart. Less than a minute into the second half, Martínez pulled one back with a finish that was not entirely clean, but still found its way past Mile Svilar and into the far side-netting. It was the kind of goal that often transforms a match: not spectacular, but vital in its timing and effect.
From that moment, Inter began to play with more belief. Roma were still dangerous, but the earlier calm of their performance gave way to growing tension as the champions found rhythm, pushed higher up the pitch and started forcing the hosts into deeper defending.
One inside source on the night said the reaction from the Inter bench was immediate: “Once the first goal went in, you could feel the game change. The belief came back straight away.”
A late scramble, then the captain finishes the job
The final minutes brought the kind of frantic sequences that often define high-level Italian football. Roma came close to restoring a two-goal cushion, while Inter kept recycling possession and probing for a final opening. Then came the decisive passage.
A goalmouth scramble saw Svilar make a sharp stop, and Martínez then headed against the bar under pressure. Yet Inter recovered the loose ball, worked it back into the box, and the Argentine striker controlled with his thigh before drilling a finish beyond the Roma goalkeeper to make it 2-2.
It was a captain’s response in every sense. Under pressure, with the match slipping toward another Roma success, Martínez produced the moment that preserved Inter’s unbeaten momentum and capped another reminder of his big-game value.
Match snapshot
| Stat | Detail |
|---|---|
| Final score | Roma 2-2 Inter |
| Roma scorer | Manu Koné (2) |
| Inter scorer | Lautaro Martínez (2) |
| Turnaround | Inter came back from 2-0 down |
What the draw means for the title race
For Roma, there will be frustration that a strong first half did not lead to three points. For Inter, there will be a sense of relief mixed with renewed confidence, because the champions once again found a way to avoid defeat in a match that could easily have gone against them.
The draw also keeps both clubs firmly in the early title conversation, with little to separate the leading contenders after a fast start to the campaign. Inter have now shown resilience in back-to-back comeback situations, while Roma can take encouragement from the quality of their opening hour, even if they could not close the game out.
As one observer put it, “Champions do not need perfect nights. They need answers when the game goes bad.” On this evidence, Inter still have plenty of those.
Elsewhere in Europe, Barcelona kept their perfect start alive with a 3-1 win over Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund moved top in Germany, and Trabzonspor stunned Galatasaray with a Mohamed Salah-inspired 4-0 victory. But in Rome, the story belonged to Martínez, who once again turned pressure into points.
