A shock result if you didn’t see the game – and even more of a shock result if you did. Roma were magnificent in the first half, but somehow let their lead slip, as Giampaolo Pazzini converted two left-wing crosses to hand Roma their first defeat in 26 league games.
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Claudio Ranieri is a manager renowned for his surprise (and slightly baffling substitutions) – even being nicknamed ‘the tinkerman’ as a result. When he gets to the end of his career, however, he may well look at his substitutions in this Rome Derby as the most important of his career.
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There’s a case for saying that was the first huge game of the season. Title favourites Inter against the side who look most likely to topple them, and Jose Mourinho up against Claudio Ranieri – the man he replaced at Chelsea almost six years ago.
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A frustrating game, this one. Not merely because it finished 0-0, but because it was a game where a draw was the least exciting outcome as far as the title race is concerned. Second versus third, and the big winners at the the end of the game were the leaders, Inter.
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Some great inventions were the result of years of design and graft, eventually producing something roughly approximating the design brief. Others, like Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin, were an happened upon by complete accident. In that sense, Luciano Spalletti is modern football’s Alexander Fleming, and the 4-6-0 was his great discovery that he never intended...
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