Four things we learned from AS Roma's emphatic 4-0 victory over Udinese

Roma show their strength under Fonseca

Not content to sit back and absorb pressure following Federico Fazio's dubious red card in the 32nd minute with the score at 1-0, AS Roma impressively pushed on to win 4-0 despite being shorthanded.

Still embodying their manager's attacking philosophy when down to 10 men, the way they bagged three goals in the final hour was a credit to the players' belief in the system and in themselves. Registering an eye-catching Expected Goals reading of 3.28 while keeping their opponents to a paltry 0.56 figure, Paulo Fonseca was justifiably delighted with the vital away win.

“We played well and had loads of chances, even playing a man light," Fonseca said. "The lads stuck together after [Federico] Fazio's red card and we deserved to win,” Fonseca explained.

“My players have tremendous character. They realised it was a key moment in the match, that we needed to defend and at the same time threaten in attack. When you find yourself a man down you tend to sit back but we realised we could score more.”

Kluivert's damaging depth runs

Causing huge issues throughout for the home team with his wicked movement, Justin Kluivert's beautifully timed runs in behind were a constant weapon for the Giallorossi. Combining blistering pace and intelligence, the Dutchman timed and directed his bursts to precision to ensure he gained separation from his man and gave the ball holder a fine option.

In addition, the way he used double movements, where he'd stop, go and then surge in behind, to unbalance his marker proved equally effective, for his agility and acceleration meant they couldn't catch him once he got the jump on them.

Interchanging positions with Edin Dzeko only compounded issues for Igor Tudor's men, meaning they struggled to settle into a pattern of marking him. By doing so, this enabled him to embark on dangerous runs from advantageous central areas.

The lead up to his goal offered an apt depiction of the aforementioned, where he broke forward down the middle having rotated with Dzeko to latch onto Javier Pastore's through ball before going on to calmly finish.

"The coach gives me a lot of confidence, and for a young player, that's very important. I am happy to have scored a goal and to have helped the team to a great win when we were down to ten men," he noted after the match.

Pastore provides promise

Granted his third straight start, Pastore's display saw him build on his solid recent form, with his creativity, smarts and technical qualities seeing him produce many moments of magic.

Even though he committed a few errors, the positives far outweighed the negatives, with the 30-year-old connecting and animating the Giallorossi's offensive passages nicely. Always scanning to be on the lookout for vacant spaces within the opposition block, this meant he occupied top positions to receive possession and know precisely where nearby opponents were situated. He could subsequently adjust his receiving angle so he could protect the ball, lay it off quickly or turn and go.

His smart movement meant he helped generate numerical and positional superiority to aid in Roma's build up to bypass the press.

Once on the ball, there was much to admire too, for he manufactured some good openings and broke the lines with his dribbling and passing.

Undoubtedly, however, his terrific assist for Kluivert's goal was his finest moment, where he threaded a perfectly weighted through ball straight into the path of the Dutchman, who went onto score.

Mancini key in quelling De Paul

Gianluca Mancini yet again highlighted how he's growing in stature and adapting to life with Roma by putting in another excellent shift. Starting in central midfield, where he continues to impress, the man marking job he undertook on Udinese's chief playmaking threat in Rodrigo De Paul underlined how well he's transferred his skill set into his new role.

Whenever Udinese looked to build through the thirds, De Paul would typically drop deeper to be an outlet. Mancini would be wide awake to this, however, for he'd respond swiftly to this trigger and heap pressure on his adversary to cut the supply line to their main man. This meant the tricky Argentine had no room to turn and was under massive duress to execute his actions cleanly due to the intense, touchtight pressure Mancini applied.

On top of keeping pace with De Paul and being instrumental in him losing the ball 11 times, it was also notable how he physically imposed himself on his marker with his aggressive, intimidatory approach, which must have placed doubt in De Paul's mind.

Another key factor of his play came when he clearly communicated with his colleagues to crossover the marking duties when his man pushed higher so he could remain in position while advising the likes of Chris Smalling or Fazio to prepare for De Paul's presence.

Although Mancini was forced to move back into defence following Fazio's harsh red card, his latest efforts in midfield illustrated how smoothly he's stepped up to help combat Roma's midfield injury crisis.