Four Things We Learned: New season, new trends as Roma start with a win

Spirited win gets things going

Eusebio Di Francesco's new era got off to the right start in Roma's first league game of the season, overcoming Gian Piero Gasperini's excellently coached Atalanta side 1-0 in Bergamo. Despite it not being the most eye-catching display from the Giallorossi, acquiring all three points against a side they failed to beat last season (and claimed just one point from) was a valuable first step forward to make.

Indeed, Di Francesco expressed his delight with his team's fighting spirit and dedication to see out the result against a team who hadn't lost at home in 2017.

“Today I wanted a show of character, compared to the last outing of pre-season," Di Francesco asserted after the match. "I saw a side out there that wanted to bag all three points. That’s the mentality of a top side.

“Those at the top often have to win ugly – that’s what we had to do today."

Left side makes inroads

Di Francesco's clear instructions to initiate overloads on the left to progress down the flank was certainly a positive tactical aspect of the performance. The way the technically strong Diego Perotti and Aleksandar Kolarov, Roma's left winger and left back respectively, received excellent supporting movement from Radja Nainggolan and Edin Dzeko, plus Daniele De Rossi at times, enabled Roma to manufacture a numerical superiority to bypass their outnumbered opponent's structure – while retaining a measure of security if the ball was lost.

Kolarov, who enjoyed a sterling debut punctuated by his inventive match-winning free kick, was especially effective, with his occupation of the left half space being a key weapon. Upon recognising the ball being on the right or in central areas, the Serbian would position himself here to act as a good switching option, as Atalanta's defence were naturally oriented and drawn away from this side of the pitch.

Once he received the ball, he could subsequently use the vacant space to burst forward into and make a nuisance of himself with his pace, slick dribbling ability and clever passing.

Aggressive defensive structure rewarded from the off

Keeping a clean sheet was unquestionably a positive reward for Roma's strong defensive exertions, as they worked tirelessly to ensure Alisson's goal remained unbreached. To start with, the away side defended the wings well, with Kevin Strootman and Radja Nainggolan's horizontal shifts to their respective flanks proving crucial from their central midfield stations. This ensured Atalanta couldn't outnumber Roma to progress in wide areas and forced them to often turn the ball over as a result.

Moreover, when La Dea attempted to pass out from the back, Roma would allow them to distribute the ball without pressure in their back three, but once they reached midfield, Roma's man orientations in midfield and out wide saw them disrupt many a move.

The way Roma's backline nullified the threat of powerful striker Andrea Petagna and imaginative livewire Alejandro Gomez in their 4-1-4-1/4-5-1 defensive shape, plus accompanied their work with some vigorous pressing, would have pleased their manager immensely – despite one or two lucky escapes.

Frontline dynamics illustrate a changing threat

With Edin Dzeko regularly dropping deep to link the midfield and attack, Roma did a great job of maintaining their central attacking presence, for Gregoire Defrel or Perotti would intelligently drift infield from the wide areas to exploit the space left behind by the Bosnian hitman.

By venturing into the centre forward slot with well angled and timed runs, the pair gained the upper hand over their markers, with their momentum giving them a dynamic advantage over the defence and their diagonal runs causing confusion as to who should mark them.