On Saturday evening Roma faced Inter in a game which was crucial for the rest of the season. Currently, Inter sit in third while Roma are desperately fighting for Champions League qualification with AC Milan. After a chaotic season with the likes of Monchi and Di Francesco getting sacked, Roma are now trying to save the season with Claudio Ranieri.
Against Inter they needed a win to make a big step forward in the race for Europes top table next season. However, in a game dominated by Inter, Roma had to live with one point. In this tactical analysis, we are going to examine the attacking problems of Inter, as well as the defensive strategy and the use of Džeko as the only attacking threat for Roma.
Ranieri and Spalletti trust the classic 4-2-3-1
Under Luciano Spalletti, Inter have stabilised and developed into a top-class thoroughbred of Italian football again. After they reached the Champions League last year, they are currently heading for another successful season. After years of mediocre performance, the fans can slowly start to dream about the Italian championship, although Napoli and especially Juventus seem to play much better football.
Against Roma, Spalletti used a 4-2-3-1 with Samir Handanović in goal, Milan Škriniar and Stefan De Vrij as centre-backs and Danilo DAmbrosio at right-back while Kwadwo Asamoah defended on the left side.
In the build-up, they often got supported by Matías Vecino who moved higher once Inter reached the halfway line. Then Borja Valero was in control of the game, dictating the attacking rhythm and serve as a linking player in the centre.
While Radja Nainggolan performed poorly against his former club as a number 10, Ivan Perišić had a solid game, not only scoring the equaliser but also bringing speed into Inters slow attack. While Perišić was positioned on the left side, the agile Matteo Politano played on the right wing. Both wingers tried to connect with striker Lautaro Martínez playing instead of Mauro Icardi.
Claudio Ranieri, on the other hand, focused on defensive stability. Roma started with Antonio Mirante in goal while Federico Fazio played next to Juan Jesus who had to replace Manolas right before the game. Captain Alessandro Florenzi defended on the right with Aleksandr Kolarov on the left.
The midfielders Steven NZonzi, Bryan Cristante and Lorenzo Pellegrini focused more on defensive work, trying to make the centre as compact as possible. At the beginning of the game, Pellegrini defended with Džeko in one line but would later drop deeper to support Cristante and NZonzi.
On the wings, Roma tried t
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