Inter Milan’s curious run: Lautaro Martinez rescues a point after a clear deficit at Roma

Italy’s champions have a problem: they keep falling 2-0 behind. The good news: the Nerazzurri still do not lose. Usually.

Inter went 2-0 down for the third straight league game after conceding twice at the Stadio Olimpico. Former Gladbach player Manu Kone struck both goals for the hosts in Rome on Saturday evening (6, 37).

Yet for the third game running, coach Cristian Chivu's defending champions still avoided defeat, with striker Lautaro Martinez hitting a brace after the break (46, 79).

That left the league's outright top clash level at 2-2, a result that fairly reflected the balance of play. Both teams dropped points for the first time after opening the season with four straight wins. Roma stay top on goal difference because, while Inter score freely, they also concede with worrying regularity.

"What I said in the dressing room stays absolutely between me and the players. Everyone knows best themselves what we lacked in the first half," said Chivu. "We urgently need to work on our opening phase and match our opponents' intensity from the first second."

Always 2-0 down again: how did Inter's most recent games end?

Against Udinese Calcio in the previous round, it was also 2-0, but Inter hit back through Carlos Augusto, Nicolo Barella, Marcus Thuram, Francesco Esposito and Ange-Yoan Bonny to win 5-3.

Before that, SSC Napoli also led 2-0, but Inter turned it around through Martinez (2) and Thuram to win 3-2.

At Real Madrid in their Champions League opener, the Lombards also found themselves 2-0 down, but that time they managed only a consolation goal.

"It was a game both teams could have won in the end," Roma coach Gian Piero Gasperini said after Saturday's draw in Rome. "The early goal in the second half changed everything and gave Inter new energy. Nevertheless, we never stopped playing for the win. This match must give us satisfaction and great confidence."