Four Things We Learned: Kalinic clinical in Cagliari

Roma secured their second consecutive Serie A win by defeating Cagliari 4-3 in a pulsating encounter in Sardinia. With two goals from Nikola Kalinic and one each for Justin Kluivert and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, they also managed to score four goals in consecutive league fixtures.

Pushed hard by Rolando Maran's quality side, Roma were delighted to hold on, as they held firm to withstand a late Cagliari comeback in what was one of the most entertaining games of the campaign.

Thriller in Sardinia

Despite the wild nature of the game, Paulo Fonseca, who made five changes to his starting lineup from the Genk game, was satisfied his team claimed a vital three points even though Roma were forced to suffer late on.

"We had to make a few changes because many of the players were tired after Thursday’s match against Gent," Fonseca said.

"We shouldn’t be struggling like that at the end. We’d put in a very good performance, creating lots of chances to put the match to bed. Before Cagliari took the lead, we’d already created five goal-scoring chances. It wouldn’t have been right had we not won today.”

Clinical Kalinic

Granted a rare start by Fonseca for this clash, Kalinic certainly vindicated his manager's decision by playing an integral role in the victory. Bagging a brace and supplying an assist, the Croatian was a fantastic source of attacking impetus for Roma.

Instinctive and intelligent with his movement, these were important elements towards his success, as he timed and curved his runs smartly to gain an edge.

Whether it be when running in behind or venturing into the box, he was a constant threat, with his ability to alter his runs to escape his marker to be an option proving pivotal.

This was particularly evident for his second, where he initially created room by pinning his marker for Mkihitaryan before cleverly holding his run so he was in a perfect position to apply his finish.

Meanwhile, in the case of his first, which arrived somewhat fortuitously after Luca Pellegrini's skewed clearance, his rapid reactions allowed him to respond first to head home Roma's equaliser.

How Kalinic dropped deep to either link play or hold up the ball also assisted the team - while he offered a wonderful reference point for his team's upfield forays.

In addition, his presence was valuable when Roma were going long from goal kicks or crossing into the box due to his aerial prowess. Giving Roma an out ball if they couldn't beat the press and supplying a top target, his assist illustrated what an asset he can be with heading, for his sublime knock down to Kluivert set him free to then score.

By the numbers, his three shots, six won aerial duels, three touches inside the box, four fouls won and the fact he completed 92% of his passes depicted his quality on a night where he became the first Roma player since February 2018 to score a brace and register an assist in the same match.

Huge crossing and set piece threat

Posing a massive threat from set pieces and crossing situations, this was definitely an avenue the Giallorossi took advantage of. To start with dead ball scenarios, and they were a persistent threat here, orchestrating some nifty routines to create space for one another by using decoy runs, blocks and double movements.

Aleksandar Kolarov's wicked, mostly accurate deliveries were so hard to defend against. Having whipped in many exceptional balls into the box to the many outstanding targets Roma have that were almost nodded home, they finally got their reward in the second half when Kolarov's searing cross found the head of Mkhitaryan who glanced his header home.

When it came to open play, Roma caused many issues with their crossing and cutbacks, doing a good job of exploiting Cagliari's narrow defensive shape.

Couple this with how Roma would get multiple numbers into the box, which often included a combination of Kalinic, Mkhitaryan, the far side winger, a central midfielder or a fullback, and the conditions were there to cause havoc.

Making their runs at differing heights and depths, this ensured the ball holder had multiple targets to aim at while unbalancing the Cagliari backline. The graphic below illustrates this aptly, with their presence inside the box prior to their opener being strong.

Cristante's intriguing role

Having deployed Jordan Veretout in a unique position last weekend, the inventive Fonseca had another interesting tactical tweak in store for this match too.

This time it was Bryan Cristante who enjoyed an intriguing role when Roma had possession. Instructed to drop deep alongside the central defenders and operate in a left central defensive post, this helped Roma build out from the back and provide structural stability as Kolarov pushed higher.

Allowing Roma to have a 3v2 numerical superiority, the flow on from this meant Cagliari were forced to press with a midfielder, thus opening up spaces further upfield.

The fact his wide positioning drew the Sardinians' shape over to his side also meant the far side was opened for Roma to hit switches of play if the home team's pressure wasn't coordinated.

As they progressed up to half way, Cristante helped generate 4v3 overloads out wide to open up spaces centrally and for runs down the channels if the opposition fullback stepped out.

A testament to how this tactic bore fruit arose in the lead up to Roma's second, where they used their 4v3 advantage to find Gonzalo Villar to kickstart the passage that culminated in Kalinic finishing crisply for Roma's second.