An accomplished 3-0 victory over CSKA Moscow at the Stadio Olimpico was the perfect way to get back to winning ways for the Giallorossi. A brace from Edin Dzeko and a goal from Cengiz Under were fine accompaniments to cap off this excellent showing.
Outclassing their Russian visitors to make it seven wins from seven in home Champions League matches, Eusebio Di Francesco was pleased and relieved with his players' reaction after the weekend's loss.
"On Saturday, after a good first half, the team crumbled at the first sign of trouble and we completely lost our way," Di Francesco bemoaned afterwards.
"We showed a lot of good things tonight, including the ability to dig in. They’re good between the lines but we found our rhythm, producing some good play and creating chances."
Moving to the top of the Champions League goalscoring charts - level on five with Lionel Messi - following his classy double, Dzeko proved his class throughout. Also bagging an assist during a top all-round display, this match served as a wonderful return to form for the Bosnian.
Clinical in his finishing, instinctive in his movement and technically proficient, the 32-year-old hardly put a foot wrong as CSKA's three man central defence were no match for him.
The graphics below illustrate his nous, execution and all-round intelligence aptly that were pivotal in his ability to find the back of the net twice.
Disciplined in his defensive work to boot, Di Francesco duly heaped praise on his forward in his post-match comments.
"I must say, he’s an extraordinary player, and not just in terms of his finishing – he gets the team playing, brings the ball down and produces good service for his team-mates," he insisted.
By the numbers, Dzeko's five shots, four key passes, four dribbles, four won aerial duels, three interceptions and one tackle demonstrated his immense impact.
One method that worked wonders in breaking down CSKA's mid block came from the way Roma initially directed their build-up towards their right, which consequently forced the away side's narrow 5-3-2 to shift to this side.
Then, once they'd pushed over, the Giallorossi would swiftly recirculate the ball to the vast vacant spaces created in left and left of centre areas. Time and time again this tactic bore fruit, with Roma's opener supplying a terrific example of its effectiveness, where Lorenzo Pellegrini exploited a sizeable opening to kickstart the move that culminated in Dzeko's opener.
Knowing their opponents' three pronged midfield were keen to step up and press Roma's defensive midfield duo of Steven Nzonzi and Daniele De Rossi, plus at times Pellegrini, when they got on the ball around the halfway line, the Giallorossi cunningly used this to take advantage of the immense gaps that consequently opened up between CSKA's lines of defence and midfield.
Being so comfortable in possession, the midfielders’ resistance to pressure enabled them to make sound decisions in possession to beat the press with either an incisive pass, slick dribble or up back through combination.
Moreover, this, in combination, with Roma's attackers’ high positioning, which pinned their opposing defenders deep, successfully manufactured huge spaces in between the lines to utilitise.
Ahead of a tough stretch of fixtures that see them play Napoli, Fiorentina, CSKA away and Sampdoria, the fact their attack looked much more dynamic in this victory, on their way to unleashing 20 shots, and creating nine clear cut chances, should give them the confidence to battle this run of games with great belief in themselves.
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