Inter Deny Roma as Martínez Haunts Gasperini Again

Roma squandered a two-goal lead at home to Inter, the match finishing 2-2 at the Stadio Olimpico, with Lautaro Martínez scoring twice to rescue the champions, the Guardian's Nicky Bandini reported. Gian Piero Gasperini, the Roma coach, could not keep himself from smiling as he crossed the pitch afterwards to greet the man who had led the Inter bench, according to the same report.

The result leaves the early title picture unresolved rather than settled. Bandini's account frames Inter as would-be title rivals denied by their own striker's intervention, and Roma as a side that had the game and let it go. The draw extends Martínez's unbeaten record against teams coached by Gasperini, a detail the Guardian singles out as the match's defining statistic.

For the neutral reading the result from abroad, the interesting part is what it says about both benches. A Roma side that can go two goals up on the champions and still not close the game is a different proposition from one that simply loses it; an Inter side that recovers from two down away from home is doing what champions are expected to do in September.