Tactical analysis: Dzeko key in AS Roma win over Inter
De Boer, on the other hand, played Cristian Ansaldi from the first minute alongside Joao Mario. Both players had just recovered from injuries.
Inter were allowed to keep the ball possession for most of the time yesterday night (64%). Frank De Boer side are the second best team in Serie A in terms of average ball possession this season. The Dutchman tried to stretch the home team’s defence playing Candreva and Perisic very wide.
Without the ball possession, Inter tried to press AS Roma very high preventing Manolas and Fazio to build the action from the back. De Boer’s strategy, however, did not lead to the expected results as the physical strength of Edin Dzeko allowed AS Roma to produce some important clear cut-chances with the former Man City striker who won the 58% of duels.
The Bosnian ace was the key in Roma’s 2-1 win. Spalletti used the striker to attract Inter’s defenders with Perotti and Salah who were running behind the Bosnian giant to create numerical advantage both on the right flank and in the middle as Miranda was busy with man-marking Dzeko most of times.
That’s exactly how AS Roma managed to score the opener. Inter’s pressing to not allow AS Roma to build the action from the back with Szczesny who made a long pass towards the attack. Dzeko’s movement attract Miranda outside the defensive line. Florenzi and Salah manage to find Bruno Peres on the right who made the assist for the Bosnian’s opener.
Both teams allowed many shots on target and a huge number of goal chances. The game was extremely entertaining, but both defences showed lack of organization.
Personal duels were keys in midfield. Joao Mario and Banega were man-marking De Rossi and Strootman whenever AS Roma had the ball.
The nerazzurri tried to find the net with vertical passes but couldn’t consistently make the most of the gaps between fullbacks and centre-backs. Inter kept the ball possession for longer than AS Roma but the two sides had similar figures in terms of clear-cut chances.
Federico Montalto, translated by @lorebetto
