Real Madrid and Roma had already qualified for the Champions League knockout stages before they faced off at the Stadio Olimpico thanks to CSKA Moscow’s 2-1 defeat at home to Viktoria Plzen in Group G.
However, top spot was still up for grabs and Madrid claimed it with a 2-0 win away from home.
Gareth Bale broke the deadlock for Los Blancos against the run of play two minutes into the second half before Lucas Vazquez added another just before the hour mark.
Here’s a look at how Santiago Solari fared in the tactical battle with Eusebio Di Francesco.
BASIC STATS
Goals – 2
Shots – 12
Possession – 60%
Tackles – 13
Dribbles – 11
30-SECOND REPORT
The game got off to a pretty even start with Madrid enjoying more of the ball without making many inroads and Roma looking threatening in the transition.
The visitors gradually became more frustrated as they began to run out of ideas in attack while the Italian side grew in confidence. Roma started getting in behind Madrid as their fluid front line and lateral runs of their midfielders made them hard to contain.
There was a definite increase in diagonal passes from the hosts as well, playing the likes of Cengiz Under and Stephan El Shaarawy – and then his replacement Patrick Kluivert – into space. By all accounts, the visiting team were lucky not to be down by two or even three goals by half-time.
Dani Carvajal made a great block to deny Nicolo Zaniolo while Thibaut Courtois saved the follow up shot before seeing Aleksandar Kolarov’s effort from range swerve just wide.
The biggest chance though fell to Under who blazed over an empty net from six yards out after Zaniolo had done brilliantly to roll it across goal to him.
Madrid were gifted the lead at the start of the second half when Bale latched on to Federico Fazio’s headed back pass. The La Liga giants then had more space to exploit in behind and got a second when Bale cross for Karim Benezema whose header was turned in by Vazquez.
Cengiz Under reacts after missing a glorious opportunity.
TACTICAL TALKING POINT
Personnel and positional tweaks
Madrid have evidently missed the midfield steel and defensive mindedness of Casemiro. Dani Ceballos was deployed in that anchorman role against Eibar and the results were less than satisfactory. It was Marcos Llorente this time in Rome and there was a slight improvement.
For one, Llorente is actually a defensive midfielder so positionally he was far better than Ceballos but that was the extent of it. Madrid still struggled every time their midfield was bypassed and Roma could have a go at the back-line. Casemiro can’t return soon enough.
The returns of Marcelo and Carvajal though has been a big boost for Los Blancos. The full-backs were particularly key in helping a floundering attack create openings. Carvajal was also a notable improvement at right-back from Alvaro Odriozola.
Meanwhile, switching the misfiring Bale to the left flank meant he was encouraged to use his pace down his natural side more often and it paid dividends. It also saw him benefit from the runs and interplay of Marcelo down that side.
Marcos Llorente and Dani Carvajal made for a Madrid improvement.
VERDICT
Solari must get credit for deploying Bale on the left flank and opting for Vazquez over Marco Asensio – or Isco for that matter – and Llorente over Ceballos. However, there was little encouragement to take from his tactics in this encounter. Di Francesco seemed to have a specific plan to undo Madrid, which would’ve worked but for some poor finishing and misfortune in front of goal.
The Madrid boss though was lacking in a clear plan of action and only really reacted and had some influence on the game after going ahead. He seemed more focused on his own team and how they were operating, which in the current climate is perhaps understandable. Still, a very fortunate win to come away with.
Rating 5/10
