Five things we learned: Perotti pulling the strings again

Edin Dzeko continued his goalscoring form with two first-half strikes to set the Giallorossi on their way, but it was Diego Perotti’s 71st minute penalty that ultimately proved decisive in the final reckoning.

Our columnist looks at five key points from the contest...

Roma move to within four points of Juventus

Despite not playing at their optimal level throughout, Roma importantly did enough to secure a hard earned 3-2 win over Pescara. With Juventus losing to Genoa earlier in the day, the win now sees the Giallorossi move to within just four points of the league leaders.

Ahead of next weekend's colossal Rome derby against Lazio - which pits second vs fourth in the table - the win was indeed crucial in the grand scheme of things.

In spite of their second half struggles, Luciano Spalletti was still pleased with the result, explaining: "This sport is about winning; so that is what really counts, not how you get the final result. Ultimately, we won the game today, deservedly, and we’re happy with that.”

He added: "At 2-0 we should have the mental strength to say to ourselves: we need to put this game to bed. But instead we try to play beautifully and get the ball forward often. It means we end up losing our structure slightly and our opponents then cause problems.

"We score a lot of goals, but we mess a few up too. I’ll say it again: we need to work on finding the best possible balance.”

Gerson encouraging

The Brazilian's credible showing in his league bow at the Stadio Olimpico was a definite highlight of the evening. Although it was by no means a perfect outing from the 19-year-old, there was still a lot to like about his 72 minutes of work. Operating in a relatively new holding midfield role alongside Kevin Strootman, Gerson played a key role in circulating and retaining possession for the Giallorossi.

Moreover, the way he dropped back in between Roma's two central defenders to assist his team in passing out from the back was vital, giving Roma numerical superiority to smoothly instigate their attacking movements.

Perotti stars yet again

Aside from supplying two precisely delivered assists for Edin Dzeko and slotting Roma's second half penalty, Diego Perotti's dynamic play out on the left saw him act as Roma's chief creative force. The fact he created more clear cut chances (with 4), completed more successful dribbles (5) and was fouled more times (6) than any other player on the pitch suitably illustrated his multi-faceted menace.

It was a great way for him to follow on him from his sublime rabona chip in the Europa League, as he's now been directly involved in six goals in his last four games.

Overload left bears fruit

Key to Perotti's success was certainly the way Roma overloaded the left flank to out-number their opponents and exploit the visitors' narrow defensive shape. Helped by Radja Nainggolan's propensity to push over and support him in close proximity and Emerson Palmieri's forward surges from left-back, Perotti and his teammates formed perfect triangles to manufacture openings for one another.

Without doubt this was Spalletti’s side’s most fruitful avenue to attack through and the intelligent manager deserves credit for the success of the tactic.

Milestone men celebrate with a win

It was a game of milestones for a handful of Roma's players, with Daniele De Rossi coming on for his 400th Serie A appearance, Nainggolan running out for his 100th league match for Roma and Gerson starting his first ever Serie A contest. And getting the win was undoubtedly a fitting way to ensure the match served as a memorable occasion for these three men at varying stages of their careers.

The legendary De Rossi was satisfied enough with the victory, while also giving credit to the tireless visitors.

"These are three big points for us," he insisted. "When you get off to an easy start in a game, there are always hidden dangers lurking.

"This team [Pescara] managed to draw with Napoli and has also played better than their points tally suggests. We did well in what was a tough game, winning despite difficult periods.”