Inter Milan’s ambition to retain their Serie A crown suffered a major setback as they fell to a 1-0 defeat against AS Roma, who stretched their impressive unbeaten run in the league to 18 matches.
With the Serie A season drawing to a close and Inter locked in a tight race with Napoli at the top of the table, every fixture has taken on critical importance for the Nerazzurri.
Facing Roma was always going to be a tricky encounter, and Inter thought they had made the perfect start when Davide Frattesi found the back of the net inside the first 10 minutes.
However, his joy was short-lived as the assistant referee’s flag ruled the effort out.
Inter’s woes deepened midway through the first half when Roma snatched a surprise lead. A fortuitous bounce saw the ball land kindly for Matias Soule in the box, and he made no mistake, firing into the net to stun the San Siro faithful.
Roma came dangerously close to doubling their advantage shortly after. Eldor Shomurodov and Bryan Cristante both threatened to score but failed to test Yann Sommer between the sticks.
In desperate need of a response to keep their title dreams alive, Inter’s efforts after the break were disappointingly flat.
Despite some renewed urgency, they failed to create any clear openings in the first 20 minutes of the second half, prompting Simone Inzaghi to roll the dice with a double substitution. Still, the changes failed to spark the turnaround he had hoped for.
The situation could have been even worse for the hosts 20 minutes from time when Niccolo Pisilli found himself unmarked in the box but somehow volleyed wide from 12 yards, wasting a golden opportunity.
Roma continued to carve out chances, and another big one came when Artem Dovbyk burst through on goal. However, his slow touch gave Francesco Acerbi enough time to recover and execute a crucial tackle.
By the 85th minute, Inter had registered just one shot on target in the second half, a damning statistic that underlined their attacking struggles.
It was a bitter blow to their title ambitions, and all they could do was hope that Napoli might slip up later in the evening.
Meanwhile, it was a memorable victory for Roma, who not only strengthened their unbeaten streak but also boosted their top-four aspirations, even if their destiny is not entirely in their own hands.
