Italy has lost Sandro Mazzola, remembered as “Sandrino” by those closest to him: a champion whose class, technique and vision belonged to the wider game, as well as a man valued for his friendship. Thoughts also turn to his father Valentino, the great name behind the family, and to Sandro’s brother Ferruccio, a gifted and gentle figure whose career and life were marked by misfortune.
The decision
Gian Piero Gasperini has set a sensible point for judging Roma’s title credentials: 16 January, after the twentieth round. Until then, the league will continue to test not merely the quality of his strongest side, but the resources available when Champions League commitments demand rotation.
On the evidence of Roma’s best spell against Inter, it is difficult not to place them among the contenders. Their leading group of 12 or 13 players can match any side at the top. The harder question concerns the alternatives, the physical decline that arrives over a long season, and the unavoidable spells of bad fortune.
Roma’s display underlined both sides of that argument. For a first half that suggested a team ready to impose itself on the division, there was a second period that exposed how quickly control can be lost when energy and key personnel disappear from the contest.
Sunday’s picture
Roma began with remarkable force. Cristante and his team-mates overwhelmed Inter for the opening 25 minutes, obliging the Nerazzurri to push forward and leaving the match open, stretched and full of transitions. The space through midfield, the counter-attacks and the mutual imbalance produced a compelling contest rather than a cautious meeting of rivals.
After Inter had failed to take two opportunities, Roma found their second goal through Koné, who was outstanding for both his work-rate and the standard of his play. Roma’s early strength was embodied by Koné, Cristante and Balerdi while he remained on the pitch.
The contest shifted once Koné left with Roma 2-1 ahead. Inter took greater command, deserved their equaliser after the interval and could have gone on to win. Roma’s physical drop was clear, even if Dybala, sharp for around an hour, lasted the full match in a sign that his preparation has improved.
Inter, meanwhile, drew on Thuram’s finest performance of the season and Lautaro’s familiar efficiency in front of goal. Yet the draw did not erase the concerns visible on both benches: Inter have too often needed to recover after falling two goals behind, while Roma again allowed the opposition to strike in the opening moments of the second half.
These should not be reduced to the fashionable language of poor “approaches”. They were individual mistakes, and in a season that may be decided by narrow margins, Roma and Inter will need to address them before January provides a clearer verdict on the title race.
