Last week, AS Roma’s 2024/25 European journey came to an end.
Despite having met Athletic Club in the first match of the League Phase of this season’s UEFA Europa League and finishing the match with a 1-1 draw, the Giallorossi failed to win in the Round of 16 against the same Spanish opponent despite winning 2-1 in the first leg at the Stadio Olimpico.
Things did not go their way in the second leg at the San Mamés Stadium.
They lost the services of their renowned German defender, Mats Hummels, early in the match.
This caused them to play more than 80 minutes with a numerical inferiority and, therefore, failed to resist Athletic Clubs goalscoring attempts.
In this tactical analysis article, we will shed light on Roma’s defensive issues that resulted in four goals conceded to Athletic Club in the Round of 16.
The analysis will also explore Roma’s overall performance in this season’s UEFA Europa League, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses in terms of tactics and individual performances in this tournament.
Roma’s performances under Claudio Ranieris management have improved greatly this season.
The veteran Italian head coach succeeded in adding what was missing at Roma: The teams organisation and each player’s duties, the desire to win, the team’s awareness of their objectives, and, more importantly, unity.
These values and standards have been set progressively, and the results of such work are positive, especially if we compare the team’s results and performances with those of last season.
Despite their painful exclusion from the UEFA Europa League, it is not really wise to argue that Roma’s season is negative as the team has been put back on track in Serie A, with 46 points so far (13 wins, seven draws and eight losses).
Roma are ranked seventh in the Serie A standings, ahead of Milan and Fiorentina.
They are four points away from the sixth spot, which qualifies for the UEFA Conference League, which is currently held by Bologna.
This also means that Roma will need to bridge the five-point gap between them and their city rival, Lazio, if they are to target a UEFA Europa League qualifying spot.
League Phase: Roma’s Performances & Progress
It is important to note that Roma successfully passed several complicated tests in the League Phase despite the difficult period they have been going through since last season.
Roma opened the tournament with a very promising performance against Athletic Club, even though they could not win the three points.
Nevertheless, they scored a beautiful goal that confirmed this groups potential, especially from an attacking perspective.
The goal showcases the individual and collective talents of players like Paulo Dybala, Tommaso Baldanzi, Artem Dovbyk, and Angeliño.
It was Dybala who initiated the action thanks to his exceptional agility and dribbling skills, before passing to Baldanzi who quickly switched the play to the left where Angeliño was excellent in advancing on the left-wing with the ball and in crossing in accurately to Dovbyk who timed his jump and header perfectly to anticipate the defenders and the goalkeeper, scoring an outstanding goal.
Dovbyk Header Vs Athletic Club
Later in that same game, Roma had chances to score additional goals but did not succeed in doing so.
At the same time, they failed to defend against an Athletic Club free-kick at the 84th minute, which led to conceding the equalising goal in a manner that points out Roma’s defensive and organisational issues in their own penalty box.
Set-Piece Defending Issues Vs Athletic Club
Following the disappointing away loss against Elfsborg, mainly due to a defensive mistake that led to a penalty being awarded to Elfsborg, Roma succeeded in winning against Dynamo Kiev at home thanks to Artem Dovbyk’s penalty, knowing that the team’s performance was not very convincing.
Furthermore, the draw against
