Inter 1-3 AS Roma: Brilliant Radja Nainggolan Brace Seals Dominant Giallorossi Victory

AS Roma cruised to a 3-1 victory over rivals Inter Milan on Sunday night thanks to Radja Nainggolan's double.

The tie promised to be an entertaining one, with second-placed AS Roma attempting narrow the gap to Juventus at the top of the table while Inter looked to stay in the hunt for a Champions League spot. 

Both the Serie A giants settled in well at the start of the game, but it was Roma who really pushed the accelerator in the final third, while Inter stars like Mauro Icardi struggled to get a firm grip thanks to some solid Roma defending. 

It only took 12 minutes for the visitors' opening goal to arrive. It was the Giallorossi's star midfielder Nainggolan who scored a screamer outside the 18-yard box, the Belgian making a bursting run to the edge of the box before letting fly with his left foot past Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic. 

The rest of the first 45 minutes saw Roma push for a second goal, but a lack of clinical finishing kept the home side in the game entering the break. The visitors were in control though, with the home fans beginning to get restless every time the away side maintained possession of the ball. 

Inter started the second half with more promise than they'd ended the first, but fell further behind on 56 minutes. Once again it was the Giallorossi's star man Nainggolan who doubled the visitors' lead with his second of the game, making a quick counter-attack towards the Inter half and shooting early to curl a long-range shot past a stunned Handanovic. 

However, with nine minutes until the final whistle, Inter's top striker Mauro Icardi grabbed one goal back for the hosts, turning home from close range after getting on the end of Ivan Perisic's low cross. 

Around the 84 minute mark, Roma was awarded a late spot-kick after Gary Medel brought down Edin Dzeko in the box. Roma's Diego Perotti calmly converted the penalty and once again gave the Giallorossi a two-goal buffer. 

The win for Roma now narrows their point difference with Juventus down to seven and gives slight hope of still staying the Scudetto title race. Inter will only blame themselves for losing this crucial game after they produced several defensive errors. Internazionale are now in sixth place on the league table and behind Atalanta and Lazio.