Inter displaced Roma, which had Miralem Pjanic dismissed, at the Serie A summit with Gary Medel securing the team's sixth 1-0 win of the campaign.
Gary Medel's first Inter goal secured a 1-0 win over 10-man Roma at San Siro, sending Roberto Mancini's side top of Serie A.
The Inter coach dropped Mauro Icardi - last season's joint-top scorer in Serie A - due to a prolonged barren spell, but the Chilean was on target to make it two successive wins for his side.
It was a strike that came against the run of play, with Edin Dzeko - whose scoreless run now stands at nine Roma outings in all competitions - unable to convert either of two earlier opportunities when Rudi Garica's men had control.