What We Learned: Dzeko destruction on our return!

In their first match in three months due to the worldwide Covid-19 crisis, Roma produced the goods in the end to run out 2-1 victors over Sampdoria.

With many options to weigh up in his team selection, Paulo Fonseca picked an intriguing starting lineup. Goalkeeper Antonio Mirante – replacing the injured Pau Lopez - was ably supported by a back four of Aleksandar Kolarov, Roger Ibanez on debut, Chris Smalling and Bruno Peres.

Then in central midfield Jordan Veretout and Amadou Diawara took up their favoured posts. Edin Dzeko was tasked with leading the line, where he was accompanied by Javier Pastore in the number 10 slot and Carles Perez and Henrikh Mkhitaryan out wide.

A positive return to action

Considering the long layoff, it was positive to see Roma get back into the swing of things, as they constructed some quality offensive moves, with their mechanics going forward a highlight. The performance also punctuated how effectively Fonseca used the forced hiatus to work on his tactics.

In a match where Dzeko masterfully bagged a brace to seal all three points after Roma went behind, Fonseca cut a content figure afterwards.

"We can’t forget that this is our first game back,” he said.

“We went out there with the right attitude, we created two or three clear-cut chances – but then when we conceded the team lost their cool a little bit. We left space for Sampdoria to create a few openings, but in the second half we produced a different performance.”

Dzeko the difference maker

Scoring two wonderfully taken goals and putting in an excellent all-round showing, Dzeko's contribution was crucial towards Roma triumphing. Looking completely unaffected by the 115-day break, the Bosnian was sharp, lively and at his damaging best.

To start with his movement, and he picked his moments brilliantly when to drop deep or exploit spaces in behind, with him especially excelling in the latter regard.

Timing, angling and directing his runs supremely, this gave him the platform from which to score his two goals. So good at reading the play and getting on his bike swiftly, he caught the Samp backline off guard on both occasions to gain the separation he needed to apply his sublime finishes.

Indeed, his opener saw him perfectly time his run between Samp's central defenders, before blasting home a first-time volley from Lorenzo Pellegrini's pinpoint through ball.

His second retained many elements from his first, where he broke in behind astutely to gain an edge on Maya Yoshida. Then, he applied a similarly amazing finish, showing incredible co-ordination to strike the ball coming over his shoulder with a clinical volley.

Although he made his goals look easy, there's no doubting how difficult it is to apply such finishes, so to score two in one game served as a testament to his quality.

The way he offered himself as a fine target man and reference points for attacks, plus showed his tidy control and combined smoothly with his teammates, only amplified his impact.

By the numbers, his 11 touches inside the box, seven shots, five won aerial duels, two successful dribbles and two shot assists further illustrated his game-changing efforts.

Infield wingers wreak havoc

By instructing his nominal wingers, Perez and Mkhitaryan, to drift infield into the half spaces and central areas, this gave Roma an excellent central presence while also allowing the fullbacks to maraud upfield and provide width and depth.

In doing so, this essentially meant Roma's shape resembled a 3-1-5-1 or a 3-2-4-1, which allowed them to overload midfield areas and frequently find space between the lines to link up with the likes of Dzeko and Pastore.

Furthermore, the way the full-backs and Dzeko would pin the Blucerchiati backline deep meant they were wary to step out to potentially leave space for Roma's weapons, which ensured those dangerous central areas were often vacant.

Causing so many issues throughout, watching the success of this tactic would have satisfied Fonseca, for Samp struggled to deal with how Perez and Mkhitaryan positioned themselves in the spaces between Samp's midfield and defence.

Veretout's intriguing role

While the teamsheet stated Roma would line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation and they sometimes defended in this animation, their offensive shape was far different, as Fonseca yet again demonstrated his tactical flexibility and nous.

One of the most interesting aspects of the Portuguese's 3-1-5-1/3-2-4-1 setup was how Veretout would typically drop into the left half space and play as an auxiliary outside central defender.

This saw the Giallorossi build up with a back three, thus giving them a 3v2 numerical superiority against Samp's first line of pressing.

In addition, it also allowed Veretout, who is an accomplished ball carrier and passer, to orchestrate moves from deeper under less pressure and dribble upfield to lure out defenders to create space further upfield.

Moreover, the way it caused dilemmas for the away team in relation to who should press him generated disconnects in Claudio Ranieri's men's shape, which Roma took advantage of often.

Another upside of the Frenchman's role came from how it provided structural security, thus granting Kolarov the freedom to bomb upfield and add valuable width to attacks.