Five Things We Learned: Radja not the only key to victory

Radja Nainggolan scored two brilliant goals to turn the game in his side's favour - but it was not just a one-man show.

Roma make a point with Inter double

In what was a billed as a real test of Roma's credentials, the Giallorossi flexed their muscles to comprehensively brush aside a strong Inter Milan side, one that had won nine of their last 10 league matches.

Roma set the tone for their stirring away triumph by playing a super first half of football, which saw them outmuscle, outfight and out-pass their opposition comfortably. The victory crucially also keeps Roma’s title hopes alive and propels them five points clear of Napoli, following their weekend defeat against Atalanta.

“We’re proving that we deserve to be where we are,” Radja Nainggolan stated afterwards. "We produced a great performance tonight against a top side. It’s never easy to win here and I think we deserved the three points.”

Nainggolan’s individual brilliance lights the fire

Radja Nainggolan continued his wicked run of form by bagging an eye-catching brace against Stefano Pioli's men, in a match where his all-round contribution had a profound impact on Luciano Spalletti’s side leaving Milan with all three points.

Playing in his now customary attacking midfield role, his skill, energy, power and underrated tactical discipline saw him execute Luciano Spalletti's instructions marvellously. By regularly drifting wide towards the left touchline, the Belgian did a fine job of pulling Inter's right centre-back, Jeison Murillo, out of position: creating central space for Edin Dzeko and Mohamed Salah to try to exploit.

Nainggolan acknowledged afterwards that this was part of the plan. “I just have to focus on doing what the boss asks of me,” he added. “I like the position, I’m scoring goals and I’m happy.

“But I’m just one player in the team – without the rest of the team, I’m just like everyone else."

The upper-hand in the midfield battle

Roma’s central midfield duo of Daniele De Rossi and Kevin Strootman ran the show in the middle of the park in style. Dominant in possession and full of grit, the experienced duo proved far too much for their inexperienced adversaries to handle.

Playing slightly higher than De Rossi, Strootman's penetrative runs from deep, in combination with De Rossi's exquisite passing and positioning, enabled them to be a constant danger and consummately control proceedings.

Strong, authoritative and clearly showing the vast experience they possess, Inter's youngsters certainly would have learnt plenty from De Rossi and Strootman’s masterclass.

Juan Jesus steps in with aplomb against his old side

Handed the start in place of the injured Emerson Palmieri, Juan Jesus did a wonderful job in his countryman's absence.

On top of doing a fine job nullifying his direct opponent, Antonio Candreva, the way Jesus adhered to his manager's desire for him to remain conservative in his positioning to provide additional defensive cover and to counter-balance Bruno Peres' advanced role on the right was a huge positive.

Assured, composed and determined, Jesus once again showed what a reliable member of the squad he's developing into.

Spalletti aptly touched on his happiness with Jesus' output after the game, explaining: "It was important that Juan Jesus didn’t push on, as I’d asked him to, and he had a fantastic game.

“His job was to find [Radja] Nainggolan in the space further forward to bring [Jeison] Murillo out, leaving Dzeko alone in the penalty area. That was the main tactic for us tonight.”

Defensive solidity shines through again

Handling the likes of Mauro Icardi, Ivan Perisic and Joao Mario was never going to be a straightforward task for Roma, but the away side combated the Nerazzurri's multi-dimensional attacking line with aplomb.

Remaining cohesive despite a pre-match change to the personnel and many mid-match tactical shifts, Roma’s spacing, decision making and concentration stayed at a high level over the course of the fixture, as they, for the most part, blunted the Inter attack effectively.

The fearsome trio of Kostas Manolas, Federico Fazio and Antonio Rudiger were all close to their domineering best, once more confirming their immense cumulative strengt