Totti on Dybala and the number 10: continuity must be earned

Radja Nainggolan, a former Roma and Inter midfielder, has spoken ahead of tonight's clash between the two clubs at the Olimpico (kick-off 18:00). Nainggolan told Gazzetta dello Sport that he would still like to play in such a fixture, saying: "The feeling of someone who would still like to play a match like this. And perhaps I could. Football is becoming easier all the time, by regulation and standard. I'm still in shape, I'd like to be there: I was at the Olimpico for Roma-Fiorentina, and God, I got the urge to lace up my boots. Honestly I think I'd find a place, as a trequartista or as a wing-back." On the match itself, he expects a tightly contested encounter. "Beautiful, tough, between two teams that love attacking football. Inter remains stronger, they have no rivals for their squad in Italy, but Roma has reached a stability and an identity with Gasperini. I hope it doesn't suffer from the pressure on a complicated evening, in which anything is possible. Dybala can be the deciding factor," he said. Nainggolan made clear his enduring affection for Roma, stating: "It's normal. Because at Roma I left my heart, with all respect to Inter: Rome is the place where I could express myself to the fullest. I would never have left. It was a choice by Monchi, the sporting director, who played a double game. He asked me for advice on how to intervene in the market and meanwhile was negotiating to sell me." Nainggolan explained Monchi's strategy was to dismantle the group built by Walter Sabatini and replace it with one of his own making. "He used the same system with Dzeko, whom he tried to sell to Chelsea. At that moment we were coming from a Champions League semi-final against Liverpool; we were a great team, we felt we could grow, and instead," he said. At Inter, Nainggolan's experience was different. "I paid the price for Spalletti's departure. Conte told me right away I wasn't part of the project. Unlike Monchi, Antonio was direct with me and I respected his assessment. Perhaps his anger hadn't passed over my refusal when he was managing Juventus—I wasn't the only one who chose to stay at Roma." On his overall Roma tenure, Nainggolan expressed limited regret. "Few. Let's say it's a shame not to have won anything with Roma. Unfortunately we found an unbeatable Juventus in our path, while we had to sell our most wanted players every summer to balance the books," he concluded.

Roma legend Giuseppe Giannini has urged the side to embrace the challenge of facing Inter at the top of the table, believing they can rise to the occasion. Speaking to Corriere della Sera, Giannini acknowledged the difficulty of the fixture but called for Roma to play with enthusiasm and without hesitation at this early stage of the season. "A defeat wouldn't compromise anything and a draw would be positive," he said. "But I expect the usual Roma, with the structure the coach has given them." Asked whether a win against Inter would justify talk of a title dream, Giannini cautioned against premature optimism but stressed the symbolic importance of three points. He noted the progress Roma have made following last season, which he described as a bedding-in year that ended with third place. "All have noticed Roma's growth," Giannini explained. "Three points would be a further confirmation and would also help external perception: reaching the break on a perfect record would be exhilarating."

Roma radio analysts have backed the Giallorossi ahead of their match against Inter, with former striker Roberto Pruzzo and commentator Sandro Sabatini both expressing confidence in the club's chances. Sabatini told Radio Radio Mattino: "Roma arrive in better shape, more focused and concentrated. Inter are a bit careless. Inter are always strong but I see them less linear, while Roma I see as more solid." Pruzzo added: "When there are matches like this you do everything to win them. I think Roma arrive in better condition: it doesn't mean they are stronger, but at this moment they seem to me to have superior form. Then of course there is Inter ahead, who lately concede 2 goals but then turn it around. At this moment it's the best we can have." He also noted that both teams now seem willing to take greater risks. Pruzzo said: "In this moment perhaps the two squads have more desire to risk, to be able to lose it while trying to win it." Nando Orsi, speaking on the same programme, framed the encounter as a significant fixture. "There is a sense of a great event, because they are two squads that didn't arrive by chance but with great merit," he said. "The direct clashes of other years didn't give me the feeling of importance that this match gives me. For Roma it's a thesis, for Inter it's a confirmation. Perhaps the match comes early, but both are top of the table and it intrigues me for that reason." He predicted an entertaining contest: "I expect a great match, not a tactical game."

Roma drew 2–2 with Inter at the Olimpico, leaving the club joint leaders of Serie A alongside Inter and Lazio after four wins and a draw from five matches. The giallorossi led 2–0 at half-time through a Manu Koné double — first a right-footed finish inside the box, then a left-footed effort under the crossbar from close range — after what the article describes as probably the best 45 minutes of Gasperini's tenure. Lautaro Martinez pulled one back early in the second half from a Gianluca Mancini error on the opposition midfield, and the intensity drained from Roma's display as Inter found their rhythm. Donyell Malen had a chance to make it 3–1 when he turned sharply in the box and shot, but Martinez blocked the effort with his face. Martinez then equalised with another clinical finish typical of a top-class striker. The performance carried a message beyond the final scoreline. Roma's first-half intensity, aggression and quality suggested the club can genuinely compete with the Serie A champions — something that would not have been obvious at the start of the season. The article notes that Roma today is markedly stronger, deeper and more self-aware than last season. When Gasperini has all players fit, the squad contains match-winners: Malen has demonstrated that in recent weeks, Koné delivered it tonight, and Paulo Dybala continues to do so through his play and creativity. Dybala was again Roma's attacking brain, with every pass often creating danger through assists, openings and through-balls that turn routine moves into dangerous situations. He was one of the evening's most influential players but continues to lack goals at crucial moments — he had a couple of chances where his left foot could have settled the match definitively. The article states that for a player of his talent, the absence of goals is now the only real blemish in an otherwise extraordinary period. Leonardo Balerdi was among the best performers but was forced off with cramp. During the second half, Mancini and Mario Hermoso also departed, forcing Roma to change the entire defensive unit — a wholesale revolution that consumed substitutions that might have been deployed elsewhere to restore freshness and unpredictability to midfield and attack. Gasperini says results and objectives will take time to evaluate properly. Yet Roma have already answered one question: they can play on level terms with sides that have lived at the top for years. Three weeks follow before the next cycle begins, with Como, managed by Fabregas, arriving next — a team that has also impressed in this opening stretch of the season alongside Roma and Inter.

Roma will operate with a skeleton crew at Trigoria during the twenty-day international break following the draw against Inter, with head coach Gian Piero Gasperini having only seven first-team players available for training and preparation. The available squad members are goalkeepers Mile Svilar and Pierluigi Gollini, defenders Mario Hermoso, Nahuel Molina and Devyne Rensch, midfielder Marten de Roon, and forward Paulo Dybala. Dybala will take a leave of absence during the break to travel to Argentina and participate in Leo Messi's farewell international match. All other players will be away on international duty with their respective national teams. To maintain training intensity and match fitness, Gasperini will draw heavily on Roma's Primavera squad, though the youth sector has also lost several players to Italian national selections at Under 17 to Under 19 level, including Arena, Bonifazi, Giammattei and Guaglianone. The club has arranged a pair of friendly matches to keep the team sharp during the pause.

Roma drew 2–2 with Inter at the Olimpico on a night that kept them level with the Serie A leaders. Manu Koné scored twice in his first 45 minutes on the pitch—his first career double—but it was not enough to take all three points. Coach Gian Piero Gasperini said: "We played on equal terms." Koné's goals came from two midfield insertions. The first arrived after six minutes when Inter lost possession; Paulo Dybala crossed, Nahuel Molina returned it, and Koné finished first-time past Martinez. In the closing stages of the first half, Dybala played another pass, Gianluca Mancini touched it on, and Koné struck under the bar—initially ruled out before VAR confirmed it. The goals showcased the attacking run Gasperini has long asked Koné to add to his game of strength, pace, dribbling and spatial dominance. Inter have pursued Koné intensely over the past two transfer windows. In August 2025, their interest was concrete: they sought midfield power and dynamism and saw him as the ideal profile, tabling a significant proposal. Roma removed him from the market. Sommer and Thuram, former teammates of Koné in Germany, reportedly tried to persuade him to join them.