Four Things We Learned: Defence shows progress in Milan

Despite a lack of goals in Milan, both sides impressed with the quality of some of their play.

Pulsating draw shows why Roma are a force to be reckoned with

In what was a fascinating tactical battle between two of Serie A's elite sides despite the 0-0 scoreline, Roma claimed a deserved point against the league leaders.

Becoming the first team to keep Inter Milan scoreless in Serie A, the Giallorossi put in a mammoth defensive effort, with Chris Smalling, Gianluca Mancini, Amadou Diawara and Antonio Mirante shining especially brightly.

Once again showing their fighting spirit and tremendous character, this away draw was made all the more impressive considering Roma had to reshuffle their side with Pau Lopez suffering an injury and Edin Dzeko unable to start due to illness.

Proud of his team's collective efforts, Paulo Fonseca, while frustrated at the sloppy errors that gifted Inter some chances, was still full of praise for his troops.

"Yes, our decision-making in the final third was a bit off but overall we played well. We wanted to come here and play an open game and I think for parts of the match we were in control," he said.

“Inter's biggest chances came from mistakes we made when playing out from the back. We tried to be bold when starting moves and we got it wrong a few times. It's what I want to see but we need to improve and be more effective when building play."

Mirante's heroics

Coming into the starting 11 due to Lopez's injury ahead of the clash, Mirante played a pivotal role in Roma keeping a deserved clean sheet.

After coming into the team at the end of last season and performing solidly, the experienced veteran picked up where he left off, hardly putting a foot wrong throughout.

Commanding his area with authority and getting his positioning spot on, these were key cornerstones behind his super showing. The fact he remained so focused and was swift to react to whatever came his way further amplified his effectiveness.

There were two saves that warranted special mention, however, which helped keep Roma in the game. The first came after a sloppy Jordan Veretout turnover allowed Romelu Lukaka to unleash his shot from a dangerous central area. Mirante was well and truly up to the task, though, diving sharply to his right to deny the Belgian with a wonderful reflex stop.

The second arose after a flowing Inter move that culminated in Matias Vecino firing off a shot on target, as Mirante again sprung across to his left to make an eye-catching save with his palm to keep the home side scoreless.

Rightfully drawing praise from both managers after the final whistle, Mirante's magnificent performance yet again underlined what a valuable member of Roma's squad he is.

Wonderfully tailored pressing plan

A key hallmark of Fonseca's tenure so far has been his ability to tailor Roma's pressing game depending on the opponent to stifle their build up. And this was no different against the Nerazzurri, with his mid block strategy working beautifully.

To start with, from his central forward post, Nicolo Zaniolo would mark Inter's middle centre-back in Stefan de Vrij while using his cover shadow to block the route to holding midfielder Marcelo Brozovic.

Knowing how vital the Croatian is to Inter, Fonseca instructed Lorenzo Pellegrini to then mark Brozovic, with this often forcing Inter wide.

Roma's wingers then had a significant role to play, for they would be positioned in the half spaces, so they had access to the Inter outside centre halves and wingbacks if need be. In addition, this indented positioning meant they could close off the forward pass routes to Inter's advanced central mids in Borja Valero and Vecino, who were typically marked by Diawara and Veretout.

This left Mancini and Smalling to mark Lautaro Martinez and Lukaku respectively while the Roma full-backs would often step up to Inter's wing-backs.

Another crucial component towards their success was how they'd shift to the near side. This was highlighted by the ball-near mid following Inter's nearby midfielder and the ball-far winger tucking in to mark Inter's ball-far centre mid, which allowed Veretout or Diawara to support Mancini and Smalling in dealing with Inter's fearsome strike duo.

Getting his mechanics spot on to force many long balls, turnovers and poor decisions, Fonseca's astute pressing scheme certainly made life hard for Inter to progress upfield.

Smalling and Mancini nullify Inter's frontline

Growing into one of the premier defensive partnerships in Serie A, Mancini and Smalling put in another outstanding shift to shut out one of the finest strike forces in Europe.

Operating with a great blend of intelligence, physicality and aggression, they hardly gave Lukaku and Lautaro an inch, as Smalling nullified his former Manchester United teammate and Mancini contained the crafty Argentine.

Applying some fantastic pressure whenever their man dropped deep with their back to goal, this meant Lukaku and Lautaro struggled to cleanly control the ball, fire off their passes as desired or turn their man. Getting touchtight and physically imposing themselves at every available opportunity, this made for a frustrating evening for Inter's pairing, as their adversaries competed manfully in aerial and ground duels.

Moreover, the way they tracked their runs in behind and into the box, crossed over marking duties, stepped out to catch their opponents offside, applied their challenges with good timing and dealt with crosses was impressive too.

Winning their battle royale against Inter's talented duo, the fact Smalling and Mancini combined to win 13 of their 19 defensive duels, made 10 interceptions, recovered possession 11 times and chimed in with five tackles was a testament to their tremendous stopping efforts.