Roma 2-2 Inter: Martinez double cancels out Kone goals in Serie A thriller

Lautaro Martinez's brace cancelled out a double from Manu Kone as Inter recovered from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Scudetto rivals Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.

Both teams entered Saturday's blockbuster clash with maximum points on the board after four Serie A matchdays, and though neither stayed perfect, Cristian Chivu's champions will be happier with the result after finding themselves two goals down at half-time.   

Backed by a vociferous home crowd, Roma made a lightning start. Nahuel Molina spread the ball out wide for Paulo Dybala before continuing his run to nod his fellow Argentine's cross down to Kone, whose right-footed strike beat Josep Martinez for power after just six minutes.

Dybala then had two attempts as Roma continued to attack at breakneck speed, sending a half-volley over the crossbar and a 25-yard drive flashing past the post.

Inter's first opening saw Yann Bisseck burst through on goal, but the defender got the ball trapped under his feet at the vital moment and Mile Svilar came out to smother his attempt.

Alessandro Bastoni also hit the outside of the post from a tight angle, before Kone struck again for Roma in the 37th minute, tucking home at the far post after Gianluca Mancini threw himself at Dybala's cross. The offside flag initially went up, but a VAR review led to that decision being reversed. 

Inter needed a fast start to the second half, and they only needed 51 seconds to pull a goal back as Lautaro Martinez – who had been flagged offside following a glaring first-half miss – finished from Marcus Thuram's centre. 

The Nerazzurri then enjoyed a spell of dominance, but Thuram's backheel from Carlos Augusto's delivery drifted wide of the near post, while Svilar beat Andy Diouf's drive to safety.

In between those chances, Donyell Malen's volley on the turn was repelled by a miraculous stop from Josep Martinez, and soon afterwards, the Inter goalkeeper's namesake struck again at the other end.

Svilar kept out Thuram's header from a corner in the 79th minute, and even after Lautaro Martinez struck the crossbar on the rebound, Roma could not clear their lines. Manuel Akanji and Yann Bisseck both got a toe to the ball in the melee, and the loose ball was lashed into the bottom-right corner by the Inter captain. 

Neither team still perfect, but both stay unbeaten

This game marked the first time Serie A's top two teams had met, with both boasting 100% records at last four matchdays into the season, since October 2014. 

On that occasion, Juventus beat Roma 3-2, but neither side were able to keep their flawless records intact here.

It was truly a game of two halves as Roma dominated the first period, winning the expected goals (xG) battle by 1.25 to 0.88, while Inter edged it in the second by 1.49 to 0.43.

In the first 45 minutes, Kone was the star. He became only the fifth Roma player to score twice in the first half of a Serie A game against Inter, after Roberto Pruzzo (in 1980), Francesco Graziani (1986), Abel Balbo (1995) and Francesco Totti (2013).

But Lautaro Martinez came up clutch in the second, with his brace taking him to four goals for the Serie A season.

And it should be no surprise that this game provided goalmouth entertainment, as Roma versus Inter has provided more goals than any other fixture in Serie A history, with 544 in 187 matches.