Radja Nainggolan: Inter the Team to Beat in Serie A

Radja Nainggolan has no doubts about who sets the standard in Serie A right now – and he doesn’t think it’s close.

Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport ahead of Roma’s showdown with Inter at the Stadio Olimpico, the former midfielder for both clubs called the reigning champions “the team to beat” in the title race, pointing straight to their depth and big-stage pedigree under Cristian Chivu.

“Inter today are a well-built team, they have reached two Champions League finals and have important reserves,” Nainggolan said. “The Scudetto that Napoli won two seasons ago was lost by Inter, in my opinion. Today they have no rivals, but respecting your opponent does not mean not attacking.”

Inter the benchmark, Roma on trial

For Nainggolan, Inter arrive as the finished product. Roma do not. That, in his eyes, is exactly what makes this game so revealing for Gian Piero Gasperini’s side.

He called it the ultimate test for a team still taking shape under the new coach, a 90-minute examination of whether Roma can live with the pace and power of the league leaders or whether the gap remains brutally clear.

The battle, he argued, will be decided at the back and in goal. There, he sees a subtle but significant tilt in Roma’s favour.

“Svilar did very well last year and is confirming it, while Martinez is in his first year as a starter and you feel the pressure,” Nainggolan noted, singling out Mile Svilar’s calm rise as Roma’s No. 1 and the strain on Inter keeper Josep Martinez after recent errors.

One mistake in a game like this can flip everything. Nainggolan knows it. So do both goalkeepers.

Dybala the difference-maker

When the conversation turns to match-winners, Nainggolan doesn’t hesitate.

“Dybala can make the difference in these games, he is a fantastic player,” he said, placing Paulo Dybala at the heart of Roma’s hopes. In a match where Inter’s structure and experience might suffocate most opponents, Nainggolan sees Dybala as the one player capable of breaking the script with a moment of genius.

That spark, he suggests, has to be backed by discipline behind the ball.

No experiments on Lautaro

Nainggolan’s respect for Inter is clearest when he talks about how Roma should handle Lautaro Martinez. This, he insists, is not the night for experiments.

“Ndicka or Balerdi? All of Roma’s defenders are performing, but for a game like this and against such a strong opponent, playing Balerdi can be risky,” he explained. “I would play with those who are most stable.”

For him, Gasperini’s first task is simple: secure the defensive base, pick reliability over potential, and avoid throwing an unproven option into a duel with Inter’s captain in a game of this magnitude.

Yet he also sees how Roma have grown with the ball. He highlighted Gianluca Mancini’s aggressive forward runs as a key tactical weapon, a sign of a team that no longer just absorbs pressure but looks to hurt opponents in transition and in advanced areas.

Old wounds, lasting bond

Beneath the tactical talk, the tie still tugs at Nainggolan emotionally. Roma, he admitted, remain a special club for him, and matches like this reopen memories that never really closed.

He recalled how, in 2018, he felt forced out of the club by what he described as lies from officials, a rupture that sent him to Inter despite having previously turned down offers from Chelsea and from China to stay in the capital.

That history colours how he watches Roma now. The affection endures, even if the ending did not.

Nainggolan also allowed himself a brief footballing fantasy: dropping into Gasperini’s current, attack-minded Roma, linking play and driving forward alongside a forward like Donyell Malen. It is the kind of setup, he suggested, he would have relished.

Instead, he will watch from afar as Patro Eisden’s midfielder, not Roma’s heartbeat.

What he expects, though, is clear: Inter arriving as the benchmark, Roma straining to smash through their own ceiling. At the Olimpico, against the league leaders, Gasperini’s side will find out exactly how high that ceiling still is.