Four Things We Learned: Goal drought ends to restore confidence

Positives to count for Roma

On a night where Roma ousted Roberto De Zerbi's visitors in ultimately comfortable fashion, there was much to be excited about. To start with, the win not only saw them leapfrog rivals Lazio back into fourth place, but also represented the first time the Giallorossi had won from a losing position this season.

Moreover, the continuation of Cengiz Under's promising form, Gregoire Defrel's much-needed first goal (in his 14th appearance for the club) and Edin Dzeko's return to the scoresheet were all further reasons for positivity.

While Eusebio Di Francesco lamented his team conceding two sloppy goals, he showed his happiness with his side's second half display.

"We lacked aggression at the start and were slow coming out with the ball, but then the team created a lot going forward and we finished much of it off," he said.

"This should be the starting point towards successfully putting together the bulk of our play. It was important for Edin [Dzeko] to score, and Greg Defrel too, who is always ready."

Cengiz's magical performance

Oozing enthusiasm, energy and class, the talented Turkish international put in his finest display yet in a Roma shirt. Scoring two wonderfully well taken goals and providing a delightful lofted assist for Dzeko was just the beginning for Cengiz, as his creativity, pace, skill and movement also saw him wreak havoc against Benevento.

By the numbers, his three shots and four chances created highlighted his immense menace, but his movement certainly gave him a strong platform from which to undertake his work. As illustrated below, his capacity to exploit vacant space served him beautifully.

Here, having edged infield into the right half space, he's taken full advantage of his opponent, Gaetano Letizia, being drawn towards Alessandro Florenzi bursting down the right. He can subsequently receive possession, turn and charge at his opposition, who are already facing a threatening 3v3 scenario, to propel his team into a strong attacking sequence.

Dzeko and Cengiz understanding grows

Another notable aspect of the win came in the form of Dzeko and Cengiz's ever-improving understanding, with the duo taking up complimentary positions in relation to one another so they could link up with each other or manipulate a marker for their benefit.

In the graphic below, Cengiz's diagonal run perfectly opens up a passing lane to the Bosnian forward's intelligent curved run by making sure his opponent follows him.

Then once Dzeko inherits possession, Cengiz's run now consequently places him in a fantastic slot to receive Dzeko's lay off and use his 1v1 quality to either cut inside or whip a cross into the box.

Strootman manufactures space for Fazio

In any football match, devising sound strategies to progress upfield is a valuable commodity. And Roma did so effectively in a variety of ways against Benevento.

One method used came through Kevin Strootman's forward diagonal movements, which successfully pulled his man out of the central corridor so Federico Fazio had massive spaces to dribble upfield into and make use of the many possibilities available ahead.