Four Things We Learned: Defiant win over Juve keeps hopes alive

Vital win keeps Champions League hopes alive

Roma kept their dimming hopes of qualifying for the Champions League alive with a memorable 2-0 win over Juventus.

Needing a victory to keep pace with Atalanta and the chasing pack, the Giallorossi put in a spirited performance full of character to overcome the champions - with two vital second half strikes from Alessandro Florenzi and Edin Dzeko.

Keeping another clean sheet, the collective defensive efforts, in combination with Antonio Mirante's heroics in between the posts, were key factors towards the result.

Moreover, the fact Roma looked threatening going forward offered further reason for positivity from a solid all-round showing, in a match where they outperformed their highly fancied rivals in XG 1.2 to 0.9.

“Now we don’t need to look at the league table any more – we just need to do everything we can in these last two games, just as we did tonight,” a fired up Florenzi insisted.

“We need to give everything we have, trying to win both and then we will see where we are; whether that is the Champions League, the Europa League, or neither. But we need to finish this season without regrets.

"We need to be able to look each other in the face after the final whistle against Parma (on the last day) knowing that we gave everything and then whatever will be, will be.”

Mirante's heroics

Having been an assured presence since taking over from Robin Olsen between the sticks, Mirante continued his impressive form against the fearsome attacking unit of Juventus.

Producing four sensational saves to deny Juan Cuadrado, Emre Can and Paulo Dybala twice, the 35-year-old highlighted his quality and what an important member of the squad he's become.

Showcasing his strong command of his area, smart positioning, awareness to come off his line, plus his razor sharp reflexes and reactions, it was certainly a night to remember for the Italian shot stopper.

In addition, his deserved clean sheet meant he's now recorded five since coming into the starting lineup and also saw him become only the 11th player in Serie A history to register 100 clean sheets.

Counter-pressing beneficial

Against a team like Juventus who can be so lethal in transition, the Giallorossi's dogged counterpressing efforts did a solid job of preventing many an attack from fully developing.

Keen to apply immediate and aggressive pressure once they lost possession in their attacking third, Roma's aim was to make life as difficult as possible for Juventus to instigate dangerous counter attacks while winning back possession in advanced locations.

Looking to swarm the ball holder, plus shut down potential passing lanes with man marking or the use of cover shadows, they minimised their opponents’ time on the ball and limited their out ball options, which successfully forced many a turnover or rushed clearance.

Aside from regaining the ball high up and being able to attack an unset, disorganised defence who were preparing a counter of their own, another upside came from how well it protected the defence and didn't expose to them as many isolation or shorthanded situations against the likes of Dybala, Cuadrado and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Although there's plenty of risk attached to this tactic, Roma worked well as a unit to stop plenty of counters unfolding to ensure this was a handy weapon.

Defensive details executed admirably

Spending large chunks of the game defending resolutely in a deep and mid block, Roma deserved credit for keeping compact, organising themselves nicely and performing their marking details soundly.

Doing a super job of controlling the most threatening central spaces from their 4-5-1/4-1-4-1 shape, Juventus struggled to penetrate through into the likes of Ronaldo and Dybala.

This subsequently forced one of the Juventus duo to drop deep, which Roma didn't mind as it lessened their presence further upfield and freed up a central defender.

The fact Roma shut down central areas so efficiently meant the away team were forced wide to fire in crosses, something that Kostas Manolas, Federico Fazio and the dropping Steven Nzonzi handled adeptly.

Some extra aspects that warrant mention were how they often applied pressure to deep lying playmaker Miralem Pjanic to limit his high quality distribution and how they pressed strategically when certain triggers arose like when when a pass went out wide or when an opponent received with their back to goal.

Illustrating their ability to press high when necessary too, which they did in a coordinated manner, Juventus certainly were made to work hard by Roma.

Tenacious, dedicated and organised, Ranieri's defensive acuity once again saw Roma prove a tough nut to crack, as the genial tactician's transformed this side into a formidable stopping force.

“I believe that, aside from the saves and the decisions from the gaffer, we’ve changed a little in our approach to defence," Mirante said on the defensive improvement.

"We’re less exposed and when we have the ball we’re almost always set up well. This restores confidence and then the results start to come in."

All statistics provided by InStat.