Four Things We Learned: Veretout drives side back into shape

Producing an accomplished performance to defeat a plucky Parma outfit 2-1, Roma obtained a much needed three points after suffering from some indifferent form following the resumption of Serie A.

With Paulo Fonseca ringing the changes again, he opted for what was ostensibly a 3-4-2-1 system, with Bryan Cristante, Gianluca Mancini and Roger Ibanez forming the back three in front of Pau Lopez.

Marauding wingbacks Leonardo Spinazzola and Bruno Peres provided the width while Jordan Veretout and Amadou Diawara were tasked with the central midfield duties.

Edin Dzeko then led the line, supported by dual attacking midfielders in Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Lorenzo Pellegrini.

Putting in an improved performance, the Giallorossi looked especially good going forward and solid at the back as Mancini, Ibanez and Cristante, despite his early penalty concession, handled Parma's dangerous frontline capably.

While recognising there's room for improvement, Fonseca's comments indicated his relief at how the match unfolded.

"It was important to win but also to play well. I think we put in a good performance. The lads all responded well to the moment they were in," he said.

“I am pleased with the win but not with the final scoreline. We could have scored three or four goals quite easily – there was no reason for us to suffer the way we did.”

Veretout's all-encompassing display

Adding tremendous energy on the defensive end and polish on the offensive front, Veretout yet again illustrated what a crucial component he is to this Roma side. Setting the tone for his teammates to follow, with his bite in the tackle, ferocious pressing and all-round intensity, the Frenchman's stopping work was at a high level.

In addition, the way he'd respond to triggers like a back pass, if his man received in an open body posture or if an underhit pass was hit amplified his effectiveness, as he harried with conviction.

Importantly, if the cue arose to step out to press the ball near Parma centre back, it was brilliant to see how he'd angle his pressing to keep his direct opponent in his cover shadow to block forward passing lanes.

Shifting the focus to his attacking exploits, the Frenchman offered plenty of drive and precision. On top of scoring a sensational 30-yard winner, his positional awareness, movement and technical qualities also stood out.

Knowing where to be located to support attacks in both central and wide areas, Veretout was terrific at helping his team achieve numerical and positional superiorities to progress attacks.

As can be seen in the graphics below, how he times when to drift across and form a 3v2 or 4v3 overload ensures his teammates have a top infield option while letting him use his dribbling and passing to impact proceedings in the final third.

Also using his running power to make penetrative runs into the box and striking some crisp passes to connect and breathe life into offensive moves, Parma certainly endured a tough night at the office containing the irrepressible 27-year-old.

Notably singled out for praise by Fonseca after the match, Veretout had every reason to be satisfied with his night.

Mkhitaryan and Pellegrini wreak havoc

From their offensive midfield positions, Mkhitaryan and Pellegrini were a constant thorn in Parma's side with their intelligent movement proving particularly damaging.

Expertly evading the Parma midfield three with their blindside movement, the pair regularly found space between the lines to receive to attack the final third. With Dzeko pinning the central defenders, the wingbacks attracting the attention of Parma's fullbacks and the Roma midfielders drawing out Parma's central mids, this created the conditions for them to thrive.

Moreover, with Parma defending very narrowly, the pair smartly found openings outside the wider central mids in the half spaces to receive freely with time and space to orchestrate passages.

Further upside could be drawn from how they made brilliantly timed runs into the channels between Parma's fullbacks and central defenders, how they made smart decoy runs to generate room for the wingbacks to receive and when they attacked the box once the wingbacks were ready to cross into the box.

Indeed, the latter was evidenced for Roma's opener, where Peres' cutback pinpointed Mkhitaryan following Pellegrini's dummy to finish with aplomb.

Wingbacks breathe life going forward

With Parma attempting to remain compact defensively down the centre, this inherently left oceans of space out wide for the wingbacks to maraud into. And that was precisely what Spinazzola and Peres did, making the most of every available opportunity to add width and depth to the side's upfield forays.

Seeing as both men excel on the dribble and are blessed with pace, they loved being isolated against their direct opponent to get beyond them before whipping in crosses and cutbacks.

Timing their runs superbly and stretching the Parma rearguard to open up room for runners, their impact was heavily felt throughout (most pertinently for the opener), as Fonseca's tactics catered ideally for the Italian and Brazilian flyers.

Furthermore, by rotating with their nearby attacking midfielder to embark on underlaps and attacking the box with blindside runs, this afforded them the chance to add some variety to their game.

By the numbers, their combined stats of seven shots, 11 accurate crosses, seven successful dribbles, four shot assists, 13 touches inside the box, 12 progressive runs and nine accurate passes specifically into the penalty area accentuated their impact.