What We Learned: Roma spark into life against Sassuolo

Roma ran out eventual 4-2 winners at the Stadio Olimpico; with Bryan Cristante, Edin Dzeko, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Justin Kluivert all notching in a 21-minute spell in the first 45 minutes.

Fonseca's first win marked in style

A blistering first half from Roma ensured Paulo Fonseca secured his first Serie A win with the Giallorossi. Jumping out of the blocks with some entertaining, attacking football, that energy and intensity propelled Roma to a 4-0 lead at the interval, before eventually running out 4-2 winners.

Playing with verve, dynamism and constantly breaching the Sassuolo backline, there was so much to like about the performance, even if they did concede two second half goals.

When speaking after the triumph, Fonseca was delighted with his team and how they played in all phases of the match.

"I hope that this will be the first of a lot of victories," Fonseca explained.

"Today we showed our ability to press high, and while we scored four goals it could have been seven or eight. And that’s against a very good side, who use the ball well.

"Defensively it was our best performance so far. Sassuolo really didn’t create many chances. Yes, they scored twice, but the team defended well generally."

Pellegrini wreaks havoc

Being deployed in his favoured No. 10 post, Lorenzo Pellegrini emphatically repaid his manager's faith by putting in a superb performance. Pulling the strings with his incisive, creative passing, the Italian international was an integral component towards the victory.

Registering three assists before the 33-minute mark, he clearly relished the freedom afforded to him to drive his team forward. On top of teeing up Cristante's opener with a precise corner, his masterful through balls to play in Mkhitaryan and Kluivert underlined his passing quality.

Free-flowing and always probing to supply teammates with options or to create space for others with his movement, he frequently asked questions of the opposition.

Excelling at finding space between the lines, dropping deep to connect play or supporting wide attacks, Pellegrini was regularly on hand to help progress moves.

In addition, by receiving in ideal forward-facing body postures, this meant he could receive on the move and continue his momentum upfield, which is more preferred than inheriting the ball in back to goal scenarios.

The way he smoothly rotated with the likes of Dzeko, Kluivert and Alessandro Florenzi was another highlight, with this effectively unbalancing the Neroverdi's stopping setup.

By the numbers, his two shots, two accurate long balls, two accurate crosses, three progressive runs, three touches inside the box and the fact he completed nine of his 10 attempted passes into the final third punctuated his exemplary body of work.

Pressing strategy bears fruit

The way Roma implemented Fonseca's smartly devised pressing scheme against Sassuolo, who always look to play out from the back, was extremely impressive.

With Sassuolo building out with a back three, Dzeko would monitor the middle central defender and the wingers in Kluivert and Mkhitaryan would keep tabs on the outside centre-backs. To accompany this, Pellegrini and either Cristante or Jordan Veretout would track the two Neroverdi central mids.

The spare Roma central midfielder or a central defender would then help mark any dropping Sassuolo forwards. Keen to constrict their opposition, the way the fullbacks marked the wingbacks only enhanced Sassuolo's issues to bypass Roma's pressure.

By using cover shadows to block passing lanes behind them when they pressed and responding sharply to triggers like opponents receiving a backwards pass, with their back to goal or in an open body shape, their coherent strategy successfully limited Sassuolo's attempts to pass out cleanly.

"Our pressing begins from the front, so it’s very important for us to have a high line. We did that well today, with Justin [Kluivert], Mkhitaryan and Dzeko, at an important point of the game. The team needs to be able to press high and I think they did it very well today," Fonseca noted afterwards.

Mkhitaryan's memorable debut

Thrust into the starting lineup to make his debut, Mkhitaryan wasted little time in showcasing what a talent he is to the Olimpico faithful.

Oozing composure, smarts and quality, the experienced Armenian added a touch of class to Roma's offensive passages.

Operating from the left wing, in a role where he was granted a licence to cut infield and combine with his fellow attackers, he thrived when doing so. From here, not only did he embark on dangerous runs in behind and find space in between the lines, but his indented positioning generated oceans of space for Aleksandar Kolarov to bomb into.

Dovetailing nicely with the likes of Pellegrini, Dzeko and Kolarov, there was a lot to like about how he appeared to already be on the same page as his new colleagues.

Coordinating his runs well and combining with some neat passing interplay, it was certainly encouraging to see him parlaying productively with his fellow attackers.

The technically proficient midfielder's work with the ball at his feet was of a high standard too, with his ingenuitive dribbling and passing placing doubt in the minds of defenders and helping set up teammates.

Marking his bow with a clinical left footed finish, following a tidy depth run, the former Arsenal man was a constant thorn in Sassuolo's side in what was an accomplished debut.