Four Things We Learned: Fonseca gets measure of old side again

Fonseca has his old team's measure

Drawn against Shakhtar Donetsk for their Europa League last-16 clash, Roma were well aware of the qualities their opponents possess - not only because Paulo Fonseca previously coached them, but also due to how impressively they acquitted themselves in their Champions League group.

Beating Real Madrid twice and obtaining two draws with Inter Milan, the Miners really caught the eye even if they ultimately failed to progress. So with all this in mind, Roma's emphatic 3-0 win was unquestionably a terrific achievement, thus giving them one foot in the quarter finals ahead of the second leg.

Clinical, efficient and full of character, this was one of Roma's finest wins of the campaign, as goals from Lorenzo Pellegrini, Stephan El Shaarawy and Gianluca Mancini propelled Roma to victory.

Keeping a clean sheet and doing a fantastic job of keeping Shakhtar's many talented attackers under control, Fonseca was full of praise for his team afterwards.

"We prepared well for the game. We waited for the right moments to press, and we dropped deep when we needed to drop deep. Defensively, it was a really solid performance," he said.

"It’s really important for a coach to know his players are ready to sacrifice themselves for the team. That’s the sort of team spirit I want.”

Roma's press stifles Shakhtar

The way Roma implemented Fonseca's astutely devised pressing scheme was pivotal in giving Roma a foothold in the game. Effectively limiting their talented adversaries' capacity to progress out from the back, the Giallorossi certainly got their mechanics spot on in this one.

To start with, the two attacking midfielders, Pellegrini and Pedro, would press Shakhtar's central defenders while Henrikh Mkhitaryan would mark Maycon, who'd typically drop deep from midfield.

The role of Pellegrini and Pedro warrants special mention, for they'd smartly curve their press out-to-in, which meant they used their cover shadows to block the passing lane to the Shakhtar fullbacks. In doing so, they encouraged their foes to play central, where Roma's midfielders were ready to pounce, hoping to win the ball back high to immediately find Roma's three attackers to surge forward against an unset backline.

On the occasions Shakhtar found their fullbacks, the Giallorossi wingbacks would step out to harry them.

Roma's central midfielders in Gonzalo Villar and Amadou Diawara would usually track Marlos and Alan Patrick, with them timing when to pounce to give the perception their foes were free before closing them down aggressively (essentially setting a pressing trap).

The three central defenders would monitor Junior Moraes, Tete and Taison, with them pressing especially intensely when they dropped deep with their back to goal, so the slick Brazilians couldn't turn and wreak havoc on the dribble.

Getting at their opponents with organisation, compactness and determination, this aspect of their game was key in forcing many turnovers high up while not letting Shakhtar settle into a rhythm with their passing.

Pau Lopez commanding in goal

Pau Lopez produced one of his finest outings in a Roma shirt, as the Spaniard played with confidence and conviction between the posts. Although he wasn't called into action too often, when he was, he crucially stepped up to help his team.

Maintaining his concentration admirably on his way to making a host of vital saves, his reflexes to react rapidly and ability to quickly get down or across were a joy to watch. The stops he executed to deny Taison and Moraes were particular highlights, where his instincts and decision making combined to see him masterfully repell their efforts to keep a deserved clean sheet.

The way he handled set pieces, rushed off his line with authority to snuff out danger and passed the ball coherently during build up were further positives from his display.

Coming under fire recently for a couple of recent missteps, this polished outing will serve as a huge confidence boost for the 26-year-old, who illustrated precisely why Fonseca was right to stick by him.

Depth runs wreak havoc

Recognising there was space to be exploited in behind Shakhtar's defence due to their reasonably high line, Roma did so to devastating effect.

With Mkhitaryan, Pedro, Pellegrini and later El Shaarawy all masters at identifying openings to take advantage of and timing their runs to perfection, the trio were a constant thorn in the away team's side.

Picking their moments when to go, they'd make their move when a defender was preoccupied, ball watching or if their blindside could be exploited.

The advanced positioning of the wingbacks was important too, for this horizontally stretched Shakhtar's backline and often drew out the ball near fullback, which subsequently generated gaps between defenders for runners to maraud into.

Masters at pinning and luring markers out of position, plus generating promising 5v5s 4v4s or 3v3s, Roma frequently found weaknesses in Shakhtar's rearguard. The fact wicked runs in behind played a role in all three of Roma's goals served as a testament to the success of this tactic, and how fruitfully they unbalanced the visitors.

Roma's opener saw Mkhitaryan drop deep and draw his man, Vitao, with him, which manufactured room for Pedro to receive the Armenian's lay off. Now with room to charge at the opposition, Pedro attracted the attention of Mykola Matvienko.

This subsequently left room for Pellegrini to make a superb blindside run between Matvienko and Ismaily, as the Italian went on to score.

The second arose after Leonardo Spinazzola won back the ball and immediately found the dropping Borja Mayoral. The striker then turned and obliged El Shaarawy's forward surge in behind.

El Shaarawy then jetted upfield and amazingly beat two men with a lovely shimmy before applying his finish with aplomb.

Then for the third, El Shaarawy's cunning blindside run off the back shoulder of Vitao saw him latch onto Pellegrini’s exceptional through ball.

Even though the Italian's shot was saved, Roma scored from the resulting corner to put them in the driver's seat to progress.