Four Things We Learned: How Roma stunned Barcelona in style

On a truly unforgettable night at the Stadio Olimpico, Roma produced one of the finest Champions League comebacks in history to defeat this formidable Barcelona outfit 3-0, sealing their passage into the semi-finals in tremendous style.

With the aggregate score finishing 4-4, the Giallorossi's vital away goal saw them progress, in a match where they were excellent from the off, deservedly qualifying for the final four of the prestigious competition for the first time since 1984.

Eusebio Di Francesco, who boldly implemented a 3-4-3/3-4-1-2 formation, couldn't hide his delight at the final whistle, saying: “I think it's only right the lads should celebrate in the dressing room because we really did believe we could pull it off. I congratulated each and every one of them.

"The good thing about this team is we always look forward, not backwards. We've achieved a massive result and we'll enjoy it but we need to keep going and aim for more.”

Dzeko's heroics

Edin Dzeko's sublime showing was an imperative element towards Roma's unlikely triumph, with his multidimensional skill set proving immensely challenging for Barca's backline to handle. His sixth minute goal was the perfect catalyst to get his team and the fans rocking, as his masterfully timed run was integral to him placing himself in an advantageous position to score.

Once he recognised Daniele De Rossi face forward in possession on his favoured right foot, Dzeko began his run in behind. He astutely embarked on his diagonal run in between Jordi Alba and Samuel Umtiti, where he ensures he's goal side of Jordi Alba.

Also noteworthy is how he notices Umtiti drawn towards Patrik Schick momentarily, which gives a dynamic advantage over the Frenchman to reach De Rossi's delivery first.

Roma's relentless pressing

Di Francesco would've been delighted with how effectively his troops pressed and harried Ernesto Valverde's men whenever they looked to customarily build out from the back.

With Barca's centre-backs splitting wide, Radja Nainggolan and Schick would smartly press them, while importantly angling their pressing to cut the passing lanes to the Barca fullbacks. Dzeko, would be oriented towards Marc-Andre ter Stegen, as he made sure to keep Sergio Busquets in his cover shadow, which was especially effective when De Rossi didn't push up to press Busquets.

The Bosnian would sometimes just Busquets too if not charging at ter Stegen or if De Rossi stayed deeper.

De Rossi and Kevin Strootman would duly keep a close eye on Ivan Rakitic and Andres Iniesta. Meanwhile, Aleksandar Kolarov and Alessandro would stay deeper to ensure Roma's central defenders had adequate cover to help them against Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Sergi Roberto.

Indeed, the way Roma altered and tailored their structure to deal with the variations in movement of the opposition was also a major feature of their work in this regard, something Di Francesco did an exemplary job of instilling into his players.

Presence in between the lines key

Having a great presence in between the lines of Barcelona's defense and midfield saw Roma able to combine successfully with one another, while also enabling them to manipulate Barcelona's defensive shape. A fine example can be seen in the graphic below, where Nainggolan inherits possession, provoking Nelson Semedo to press him.

Knowing Dzeko is available, the Belgian neatly finds him. Due to Gerard Pique tracking Dzeko, a big space opens up behind Pique, which Nainggolan and Schick duly target. Schick's deeper positioning cleverly pins Umtiti and means Dzeko has space to turn and run into, plus meaning Nainggolan will not be offside once available to latch onto a pass.