Inter Recovers from Two-Goal Deficit in 2-2 Draw Against Roma, Retaining Serie A Lead

Rome -- AS Roma against Inter might not have told us who will win the Serie A title, but the gripping 2-2 draw absolutely showed that both the Giallorossi and the Nerazzurri will fight until the very end, competing for it. In the end, it was all even at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome between the two Serie A leaders, who each entered the match having won their four opening games.

> ROMA STRIKE EARLY 💥 Manu Kone finishes a wonderful move to put the Giallorossi ahead against Inter 🤩 Watch Serie A on @paramountplus 📺 pic.twitter.com/EL1xLMCoQT — CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) September 19, 2026

It started like we expected, with the home team dominating and showing off the best version of themselves: two goals scored by Manu Kone in the opening 45 minutes seemed impossible to overcome for any team in the league, well almost any team. Despite a negative first part of the match, Cristian Chivu's side had a much better approach in the second half, immediately scoring their first goal with their captain Lautaro Martinez, who also netted his second goal minutes later.

In the end, Inter must be happy with the result, but once again they had to concede two goals in the opening minutes, as happened before against Napoli and Udinese. This was the fourth straight game where Inter conceded the first two goals. They had won two of the three previous times, only losing away to Real Madrid in their Champions League opener.

On the other side, Gian Piero Gasperini can definitely count on a strong team that showed to be at the level of the Serie A champions, but some of his decisions in the second part of the game seemed confusing, as he decided to replace Kone, by far the best player on the pitch at the 60th minute, alongside Gianluca Mancini who led the defense well against the Inter strikers.

> LAUTARO MARTÍNEZ FIRES INTER BACK LEVEL 🔥 This Inter team just REFUSES to give up, we are level here at the Stadio Olimpico 🏟️ Watch Serie A on @paramountplus 📺 pic.twitter.com/NY7VsarrY1 — CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) September 19, 2026

Inter need to improve their approach to games, having conceded eight goals in the first halves of their last four matches across Serie A and the Champions League. This is something they need to address, as they cannot expect to make such comebacks every single week. On the other hand, both teams gave us a really entertaining game and showed why Serie A is becoming a much more enjoyable league to watch. The new refereeing approach is also helping, with less time-wasting, fewer players staying down pretending to be injured, and fewer unnecessary fouls being called.

Today's draw might seem a setback, but it wasn't at all. Both teams are heading into the first international break of the season as Serie A leaders and will have time, but maybe not many players available for their coaches to work with, to reflect on what went wrong in the first five matches of the Serie A season. October will be a challenging month for both managers, as Inter will face AC Milan in the Derby della Madonnina on October 31, while AS Roma will host Real Madrid at the Stadio Olimpico on October 14, as Jose Mourinho will make his emotional comeback at the Stadio Olimpico for the first time after his sacking in January 2024.

It's definitely too early to say if Inter and AS Roma will be fighting for the Scudetto, even if we can expect them to be. Inter are the favorites, and they showed it clearly by producing yet another comeback in the second half. The Nerazzurri seem to thrive in hostile away environments, such as the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, where they appear much more comfortable playing under pressure, while AS Roma under Gasperini are at the beginning of their new cycle, but the road is clearly going in the right direction. They probably only need more time and to play more of these matches. At the same time, Inter will probably be more involved in the Champions League knockouts later in the season, and if AS Roma are able to stay close to them, they really have chances to potentially fight for the title race. For sure, today we had fun.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/inter-roma-2-2-draw-serie-a/)._