With so much on the line, it was no surprise that tempers flared early at the Stadio Olimpico. Just four minutes in, Lautaro Martínez found himself in the referee’s book for a foul on Wesley.

Moments later, the breakthrough arrived. Ange-Yoan Bonny timed his run perfectly to spring Roma’s offside trap and, despite hesitating as he looked for the assistant’s flag, slotted calmly past Mile Svilar to give Inter an early lead after just six minutes.

Roma nearly hit back when Bryan Cristante’s header flashed narrowly wide, while Henrikh Mkhitaryan missed a golden chance to double Inter’s advantage soon after.

The Giallorossi endured a spell of frustration as Inter controlled possession and shape, but they eventually began to grow into the game. Evan Ndicka headed off target from a corner, though Gian Piero Gasperini’s side still found it difficult to unlock Inter’s resolute defence. At the other end, Bonny continued to trouble Roma’s backline, with Ndicka earning a yellow card for cynically pulling him down.

Inter kept up their intensity after the break. Martínez headed wide and Denzel Dumfries was denied at the end of a lightning-fast counterattack within the first five minutes of the restart.

Yann Sommer proved vital once again, first stopping Paulo Dybala’s effort after a clever pass from Manu Koné, then tipping away Mario Hermoso’s header. Zeki Çelik’s deflected shot led to another Roma chance, but substitute Artem Dovbyk squandered the opportunity, heading wide from close range.

As the clock wound down, Sommer held firm to stop Matías Soulé’s drive, while Alessandro Bastoni’s deflected strike at the other end came agonisingly close to sealing the result. Mkhitaryan then grazed the post late on, but Inter held on for a hard-fought victory — their sixth straight win in all competitions — moving level on 15 points with Napoli and Roma.

AC Milan could move above that trio if they beat Fiorentina on Sunday evening, but for now, the Nerazzurri can enjoy sitting atop Serie A once again.

Roma, meanwhile, will be desperate to recover quickly. Though this was only their second league defeat of the campaign, it marks their second loss in three matches across all competitions — a run they’ll be keen to halt fast.