Four Things We Learned: Pellegrini the conductor in romp

Dominant win at the Dall'Ara

Roma returned to winning ways with a scintillating 5-1 win away against Bologna at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara.

With all the goals coming in the first half, strikes from Edin Dzeko, Lorenzo Pellegrini, Jordan Veretout, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and an initial own goal from Andrea Poli meant there was no coming back for the Rossoblu.

Outshining their adversaries in Expected Goals (4.04 to 0.35), shots (15 to seven), aerial duels won (12 to seven) and corners won (five to one), the numbers illustrate their dominance.

In what was a magnificent collective performance, assistant manager Nuno Campos - who manned the touchline due to Paulo Fonseca's suspension - was full of praise for his troops.

"We were coming here on the back of two tough games, but the response today was amazing, extraordinary," Campos said.

"We put in a great performance, our first-half display was exceptional: I think Roma set a record, having not scored five first-half goals since 1931. Edin also set one of his own early, for goals for the club. But I want to underline the fact it was a great team performance.”

Pellegrini masterclass

Deployed as one of the two attacking midfielders within Roma's 3-4-2-1, Pellegrini produced a sensational performance. A key driving force behind the Giallorossi's stirring triumph, his movement, technical gifts and awareness were vital towards his success.

So intelligent at recognising vacant spaces within the Bologna block, the way he exploited openings was a key reason why he persistently wreaked havoc.

Whether expertly dropping deep to form overloads in midfield, finding space between the lines or bursting into the box from deep, he was always offering himself as an outlet to breathe life into attacks.

Beautifully coalescing with Dzeko, the pair's understanding shone brightly, as they drew and pinned opponents to create space for one another in the attacking third.

The finest example of their dovetailing arose in the lead up to Pellegrini's goal, where Dzeko's clever decoy run attracted Takehiro Tomiyasu to make the space for Pellegrini's masterful run in behind.

The Italian international then latched onto Leonardo Spinazzola's through ball, steadied himself and slotted his finish calmly.

Pellegrini's powerful ball carrying and ingenuitive passing only enhanced his threat. Both in transition or when receiving under pressure, how he was able to wriggle away from danger or breeze by his opponents on the dribble gave Roma some desired dynamism.

Striking some searing through balls in behind and some lovely one touch passing to link play, it was great to see him assess situations coherently and select the ideal pass.

So incisive and confident, his classy assist for Dzeko served as a testament to his quality, as he found space smartly then turned sharply before slipping a precise through ball in for Dzeko to score.

Running the show for Roma on his way to bagging a goal and an assist, the first time he's been involved in two goals since the Derby della Capitale against Lazio in 2018, his man of the match display evidenced how integral he is for the team.

Roma find joy down the left

Roma's plan to target the Bologna right (Roma's left) was a tactic that bore fruit on many occasions. With Spinazzola providing the width from wingback and Mkhitaryan operating centrally and causing marking dilemmas for defenders, Roma frequently found joy down this side of the pitch.

Giving Lorenzo De Silvestri a torrid time throughout, the 32-year-old was especially made to suffer by the free flowing Spinazzola, who completed six dribbles and six progressive runs.

With Spinazzola keeping his direct opponent busy, Mkhitaryan would shrewdly embark on nifty runs into the vacated channel behind De Silvestri. This would then force a Bologna central defender to push across to deal with the Armenian, which manufactured a disconnect in their backline for Roma to expose.

To mix things up, Roma's duo executed some super one-twos to unbalance their adversaries. Indeed, Roma's opener highlighted the value of this, where Spinazzola's exchange with Mkhitaryan left De Silvestri for dead.

Upon receiving the return pass, Spinazzola then bombed into the box unchallenged before firing a cutback into the area that Poli turned into his own net.

The fact Roma's third originated down this side provided further proof of how well this strategy worked.

Pressing scheme strong

Knowing Bologna would be intent on building out from the back, Roma came with a neat plan to combat Sinisa Mihajlovic's men. To start with, Pellegrini would join Dzeko in the first line of pressure, as they'd usually press Bologna's two centre backs.

At times, one would mark the ball near centre half and the other would be on a dropping Bologna midfielder.

Mkhitaryan would track Rossoblu right back, De Silvestri, and Rick Karsdorp would be on left back, Ibrahima Mbaye. Roma's central midfielders, Jordan Veretout and Gonzalo Villar, would usually monitor two of Poli, Roberto Soriano and Mattias Svanberg.

Seeing as Svanberg loved to stream in behind, one of Roma central defenders would mark him when he did so.

To round things out, Spinazzola would watch nearby winger Emanuel Vignato, as Marash Kumbulla, Bryan Cristante and Roger Ibanez remained awake to Rodrigo Palacio and Musa Barrow's presence.

Angling their pressure nicely to force Bologna towards the touchline and to use their cover shadows to block passing lanes centrally, the away side did a fantastic job of limiting Bologna's build up.

It was also notable how Roma's backline executed smooth marking crossovers, were alert to runners from midfield like Svanberg and pressed the dropping forwards aggressively so they couldn't turn or cleanly control possession.

Although Bologna switched things up in the second stanza and found some success, Roma's excellent harrying work in the opening 45 in particular was vital in helping them assert their dominance.