Five Things We Learned: Roma restore some confidence ahead of Lyon rematch

Back to winning ways

After enduring a tough run of games, which saw Roma lose four of their last five matches in all competitions, it was great for Luciano Spalletti's side to get back on the board with a solid showing away from home against Palermo.

Despite the Siclians’ lowly standing right now, there was certainly no shortage of pressure: with Napoli winning earlier in the day, it was imperative the Giallorossi won to consolidate their second spot on the table.

And even though the 3-0 scoreline was perhaps slightly harsh on the home side, few would dispute that Roma ran out deserved victors.

Grenier’s encouraging showing in first extended run

In what was his first start for the club – his full debut - Clement Grenier put in a positive shift from his central midfield station. He contributed nicely on both sides of the ball, with an (understandably) nervous start allayed by his assist for Stephan El Shaarawy’s opener. By the numbers, his four chances created, three won aerial duels and five defensive actions accompanied his well-weighted assist beautifully.

With such fierce competition for midfield places at Roma, Grenier’s showing will unquestionably give his manager something to think about going forward.

Salah and El Shaarawy roles surprise some

The roles of Stephan El Shaarawy Mohamed Salah were an intriguing aspect of Spalletti's tactical setup. Due to both men being technically strong, fast and excellent in one-on-one battles, Spalletti shrewdly deployed them as a strike partnership, with the clear agenda to isolate themselves vs Palermo's centre-backs.

A key to this was their positioning without possession, as they were instructed not to track too far back defensively, thus allowing them to be in great positions to be an outlet once a turnover occurred. Seeing as Palermo's full-backs were in advanced areas, this created advantageous scenarios for Salah and El Shaarawy to be in two-on-two battles with Palermo central defensive duo on the break.

“Our plan tonight was to look to find Salah and El Shaarawy in between the lines so they could target their centre-backs," Spalletti duly noted after the match.

Pass out superiority

Roma’s three-man backline certainly did a top job in keeping Palermo quiet on their way to keeping a much-needed clean sheet, but they also deserved credit for the way they instigated Roma’s passing game out from the back. Out-numbering their opponent's first line of pressure, this made sure the Giallorossi could patiently pass the ball between themselves until the right opening to progress upfield presented itself.

Moreover, courtesy of the Rosaneri focusing on minimising space in the middle by remaining compact in their defensive structure, Roma’s wing-backs had vast spaces out wide to be ideal candidates to receive possession from Roma's back trio and motor upfield with space to cause havoc.

Dzeko, from the bench, has a crucial impact

Edin Dzeko yet again demonstrated his tremendous value to his side by coming off the bench to score Roma's vital second goal to guarantee his side all three points. His well-taken goal incredibly moves his season tally to 30, a feat that only three other Roma players have achieved in the club's history.

In his post-match comments the Bosnian was just happy his side got the win following a challenging stretch, explaining: “This is an important win – I think that’s clear. It’s not been great this past week so it was vital that we won tonight.

“We’ve won and that will restore some of the confidence we’d lost recently.”