It has been a truly tumultuous start for José Mourinhos Roma this season in Serie A. The opening two league games saw them fail to pick up all six points. However, it was clear that the side struggled against AC Milan in their third game of the season, with the side unable to prevent Milan from progressing the ball into dangerous areas.
It appeared as if the sides fortunes would improve after a 7-0 thrashing against Empoli; however, one draw and 4-1 loss to Genoa later, Romas results would lead to José Mourinho stating that this current season has been his worst start to a campaign in his entire career.
From an attacking perspective, Roma have one of the leagues best goalscoring records. However, their goal tally of 15 should be taken with a pinch of salt due to their 7-0 win against Empoli. From an xG perspective, Roma have had the seventh-best attack in the league this season.
However, from a goals-against perspective, the same cannot be said, with the side conceding 11 goals, which would place them in the bottom half of the division. From an xGA view, the side have conceded chances just over half of that at 6.55, with Roma having the fourth-best defence in the league from this perspective.
This scout report and tactical analysis will look to investigate Romas tactics that have contributed to their defensive frailties and provide reasons as to why the side have had an up-and-down start to the season.
The simple answer
In cases where sides concede a lot more goals than the value of their xGA suggests they should, it is customary to turn the focus towards the goalkeeper of the side in order to investigate whether or not this is the chink in the armour of the side. This is, unfortunately, the case for Rui Patrício, with the shot stoppers save percentage of 70.5%, ranking him in the 42nd percentile of goalkeepers.
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