Four Things We Learned: Frustration reigns after Juve defeat

Juventus ran out 2-1 winners on Sunday evening, thanks to goals from Merih Demiral and Cristiano Ronaldo inside the first 10 minutes.

Diego Perotti converted a second half penalty to cut the deficit, but an equaliser would not be forthcoming for the Giallorossi.

Still positives to be extracted despite result

Although Roma ultimately couldn't recover from going two goals behind within the opening 10 minutes, there were still a lot of elements worth analysing from their showing thereafter - as they battled back into the match before eventually succumbing 2-1.

On a night that was marred by Nicolo Zaniolo's devastating injury - and Roma squandering a plethora of chances like they did against Torino last weekend - Paulo Fonseca was once again left ruing his team's missed chances despite a solid showing.

“It’s tough playing against a team like Juventus and we gave away two early goals," he said.

"We put in a good performance after that, against a great side. We were positive in the second period and put Juventus under pressure. However, once you go two goals down, it’s difficult."

Polished Diawara stands out

Exuding customary calmness and composure from his defensive midfield station, Amadou Diawara's polished performance was unquestionably an eye-catching takeaway from the clash.

Reading the play superbly throughout, his anticipation and awareness, in combination with his decision making and technical skills, ensured he excelled on both sides of the ball.

Defending with tenacity and intelligence, the way he applied some vital interventions, tracked back energetically to support his backline, applied pressure and positioned himself to block central pass routes ensured his presence was keenly felt.

Meanwhile, on the offensive end, the 22-year-old kept things ticking over crisply in midfield with his ability to keep the ball under pressure and superb range of passing seeing him connect and conduct Roma's passing moves.

Whether changing the angle of attacks, hitting penetrative line breaking passes or launching raking diagonals, his distribution was first rate.

It's also worth mentioning how he'd drop between the central defenders to aid build up to generate 4v3 or 3v2 numerical superiorities vs. Juve's first line of pressure to help the Wolves progress easier.

A selfess, team-first player, who gives Roma balance and stability, Diawara's latest body of work further demonstrated what an astute acquisition he's been for Fonseca's Roma.

Roma's positive pressing

Another hallmark of Fonseca's tenure so far has been Roma pressing, and Roma did so to good effect against Juventus too. Doing a largely good job of maintaining access and making life challenging for Maurizio Sarri's men to play out from the back, this was a crucial factor towards Roma getting back into the game.

Undertaking their actions with intensity and clarity, Juventus were forced into many turnovers and sloppy passes due to Roma's harrying. Serving as a decent chance creator too, as they won the ball back high on numerous occasions to launch some quality attacks against Juve's unset backline, much could be gained from their prowess here.

The typical setup would see Edin Dzeko mark the ball near central defender and Lorenzo Pellegrini monitor Miralem Pjanic, with Dzeko and Pellegrini often reversing roles when the ball was moved to the ball far centre back. The winger on the near side would then mark the ball side fullback, while the far winger would tuck in to mark Juventus' far eight (Blaise Matuidi or Adrien Rabiot).

Jordan Veretout would track the nearby eight and Diawara would look to prevent Aaron Ramsey getting involved. This then left the central defenders, who were supported by the fullback on the opposite flank when possible, to deal with Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala.

For the beginning of the second half, it was noticeable how Fonseca instructed Veretout to press higher and very aggressively to help Roma impose themselves further, on a night where their strategy worked successfully.

Florenzi adds offensive impetus

Handed his fourth consecutive Serie A start, Alessandro Florenzi's strong outing vindicated Fonseca's decision to give him another run out, with his offensive contribution particularly standing out.

Bombing up the touchline with vigour throughout, he added plenty of width and depth to the Giallorossi's attacks, which notably stretched Juventus' narrow defensive shape. Getting into so many promising positions in the final third with his smart bursts and relentlessly running power, Florenzi got himself into excellent areas so he could then fire in some sharp crosses and cutbacks.

Also key was how he dovetailed with his colleagues, as he not only overlapped in true style, but also performed rotations, which allowed him to maraud infield to embark on some sharp underlapping runs while unbalancing the Juve rearguard's organisation.

The best example of how effectively he combined his running and neat deliveries arose in the lead up to Roma's penalty where his movement and tremendous cross to Dzeko breathed life into the passage.

Florenzi's statistics punctuated his attacking exploits, for he completed four accurate long balls, three crosses, three progressive runs, two touches inside the box and a respectable 83% of his 64 attempted passes. Not a bad evening's work at all from Roma's ultra competitive skipper, as he certainly did everything in his power to help the cause.