Four Things We Learned: Year ended on a high

Tough away trip nicely navigated

Ending the year with back-to-back wins, a timely clean sheet and another accomplished all-round performance, Roma navigated their tough away trip to Parma expertly.

Controlling the game with their strong possession game, they limited their opposition's chances while creating plenty of their own on their way to firing off 23 shots and enjoying 63% of possession.

Now with a well-earned break ahead of them to recuperate and mentally refresh, the Giallorossi, who have now moved into fifth on the table, will hope to propel themselves into the top four in the New Year.

Coach Eusebio Di Francesco cut a content figure in his post-match comments, explaining: “We've rediscovered our identity. We looked like a team who knew what they wanted. We struggled a little in the first half because our ball circulation was too slow, but we upped the tempo after the restart and managed to remain in control of the game.

"We fashioned lots of chances to hurt the opposition while they only had one real chance all game – [Luca] Siligardi's.”

Cristante adaptation going well to deeper role

Bryan Cristante continued his impressive form in this latest victory, as he performed brilliantly on both sides of the ball.

Defending with intensity and nous, the imposing midfielder was imperious in winning his individual battles, with his strength, timing of his tackles and commitment ensuring he was a very disruptive presence.

Meanwhile, on the offensive end, he dictated Roma's possession phases nicely, passing the ball with assuredness and incision. Whether switching the angle of attack with raking crossfield deliveries, hitting vertical line breaking passes or recirculating possession, his distribution was key.

Also catching the eye with his powerful forward bursts, clever movement to find space and his goal threat, he was eventually rewarded for his efforts when his brilliant header gave Roma the lead on 58 minutes.

After another outstanding body of work, the man who's now scored three goals in his last five matches is looking right at home in the midfield alongside Steven Nzonzi, following a period of integration to begin with.

"Initially I experienced a period of adaptation, as always happens when you change team," Cristante explained. "You can not expect a new player to be one hundred percent from the first game.

"But slowly I've come along and with Nzonzi, the agreement improves. We have to keep playing like this. We needed matches to get to know each other."

Roma nullify Parma offensive weapons

Lethal on the counter attack and always keen to stretch their opposition, Roma did an excellent job of containing the threat posed by Parma. Aside from one big chance from Siligardi, where Robin Olsen produced a magical save, Roma's defensive measures work well.

Crucial to managing the home team's danger in transition was how Roma did a sterling job of applying pressure once they turned the ball over, for they looked to block nearby passing lanes and heap pressure on the ball carrier. This subsequently forced the man on the ball into a rushed decision and into an unclean action that often resulted in a turnover.

Moreover, the way Roma's backline kept their line high to further condense the pitch, plus through their 4v3 superiority over Parma's front three and admirable concentration, this helped Roma stop many attacks dead in the water.

Zaniolo and Dzeko coalesce to exploits gaps

Edin Dzeko and Nicolo Zaniolo dovetailed brilliantly to persistently unbalance Parma's defensive unit. Displaying a really impressive understanding with each other, their complementary movement caused constant headaches and created huge gaps to be exploited.

With Dzeko's central positioning typically pinning both of Parma's central defenders and Cengiz Under or Justin Kluivert drawing the attention of Parma's fullbacks, this manufactured large openings within the opposition backline for Zaniolo to take advantage of.

On countless occasions, he did precisely that, especially in the first half, where he caused plenty of confusion for his foes with his energetic, calculated surges.

It was interesting to note after being burnt by this tactic many times, Parma then began tracking Zaniolo's movements with one of their centre halves. This then left Dzeko 1v1 with his direct opponent to use his craftiness and knowledge of when to precisely time his runs in behind.

The graphic below illustrated how he thrived in such scenarios, where Bruno Alves shifts across to monitor Zaniolo, thus leaving Dzeko against young Alessandro Bastoni. Dzeko cunningly made the most of this situation to jet in behind when Bastoni briefly lost him, in a passage that he almost scored from.

It was also intriguing to observe when Dzeko would drop deep and draw his man with him how Zaniolo would instantly motor forward and use the newly available space to run into, which served as another example of the nuisance caused by Zaniolo and Dzeko.

All statistics provided by InStat.