Serie A 2019/20: Verona vs Roma – tactical analysis

This weekend of Serie A action saw Roma travel to Verona in a bid to keep hold of their current Champions League qualification spot. Roma were beginning to gain some momentum having won three out of their last four Serie A games and they were up against a Verona side that found themselves only five points off a European place next season.

There was no upset to be found here however as Roma ran out 3-1 winners away from home. Verona attacked Roma throughout the match and stood toe-to-toe with their rivals for as long as they could but late goals at the end of both halves saw the Verona-based club falter to their sixth loss of the season.

This tactical analysis will detail the ebbs and flows of this clash and explain where the game was won for Roma. We will examine the tactics on display and illustrate the impact they had on the game through our analysis.

Lineups

With Nicola Zaniolo missing for the Roman side, there were new spots in the lineup for Amadou Diawara and Lorenzo Pellegrini to take up in Paulo Fonsecas 4-2-3-1. The Portuguese manager also rotated his centre-backs with Federico Fazio enjoying a rare time on the bench as Chris Smalling partnered Gianluca Mancini in front of Pau Lopez.

Verona were listed as being lined up in a 3-4-1-2 formation although this was difficult to identify for the most part during the game for reasons well get into. Salvatore Bochetti featured at centre-back for the home side on his return season to Serie A following his Russian experience in Moscow. There was no place in the side however for veteran goalscorer Giampaolo Pazzini who instead had to settle for his own spot on the bench.

Wheres Veronas midfield? 

It became quickly apparent in this game that Verona would struggle to impose themselves on this game. This was primarily due to the lack of occupation they had in the centre and seeming lack of options their players had to pass to when on the ball. This was particularly a problem when Verona were building out from the back. For their centre-backs, there were almost no safe options to pass the ball forward as great chasms of space appeared out of nowhere between the defence and the forward line.

The two deepest midfielders for Verona often remained too deep or too wide whilst in possession leaving only the forward three players as threats within Romas defensive shape. Not only did this not create any overloads within the spaces inside Romas defensive shape but this also meant that Verona were playing with six men or more outside and in front of Roma. This made it very easy for Roma to defend against Veronas possession since so much of it occurred in front of the entire Roma defence.

Romas defence could simply sit back and keep Vero