Line-Ups
Sassuolo (SAS): in-possession 2323 (build up) / 235 (final 3rd) & out-of-possession 4141 (high) / 451 (low)
Roma (ROM): in-possession 343 & out-of-possession 442 (high) / 532 (low)
More details on each team's shape, in and out of possession, and general observations below.
Sassuolo Observations
In-Possession:
In build up and middle third phases, SAS used a 2323 structure
The below visual example shows the predominant positions each SAS player took up within this structure
However, SAS players regularly interchanged positions (more detail on this further below) but each position had a specific role for the team when in-possession
The two centre backs would position themselves close together, so they could play short passes between each other to try and patiently draw out a player from ROM's first line of defence
As per the centre backs, the fullbacks would also position themselves narrowly and play on the outside of the ROM first line of defence and whilst they would play on a higher horizontal line than the centre backs, they would maintain a short distance from them, so they were also able to receive and make short passes at the back
Completing the 2-3 base of the SAS in-possession shape would be a single midfield pivot who would play between and behind the ROM first line of defence to offer a vertical passing lane through the centre of the pitch from the centre backs and also offer angles to receive from the fullbacks
The narrowness of this 2-3 base for SAS, and the short passes between them, was an attempt to disrupt the ROM first and second lines of defence, specifically trying to cause a ROM player to press and thus jump out of their defensive shape which would help create space in more advanced areas for SAS to exploit
This 2-3 base and their short, patient passing tactics were a key component of SAS's in-possession play
According to FBref, SAS players had a total of 885 touches during the game which was their highest in Serie A to date this season
The six players with the highest number of touches were all the players who would help make up this 2-3 base e.g. the two centre backs, the two narrow fullbacks and then one of either Lopez or Obiang as the midfield pivot
The three players with the highest number of touches were 1) Marlon with 169, 2) Lopez with 126 and 3) Chriches with 116 - and these three players alone accounted for 46% of all SAS's touches, demonstrating how this patient, short passing between this 2-3 base was a key in-possession tactic for SAS and clear principle of their play
Ahead of this 2-3 base, SAS would have two advanced central midfielders who would position themselves in-behind and in-between the ROM midfield, particularly trying to find pockets of space between-the-lines in the half-spaces
The positioning of these two advanced central midfielders again was an attempt to disrupt the ROM defensive shape - by positioning themselves between-the-lines of the ROM midfield and defence
This caused ROM issues as a) the ROM central midfielders had a decision to make, as to whether to hold their position or go and press the 2-3 base ahead but knowing if they did, they would be leaving these advanced central midfielders in space behind and b) if these advanced central midfielders could be found with passes, then the ROM defence would have a decision, as to whether to stay and allow them space to carry the ball, pass or shoot, or go and press and therefore create a gap in their last line of defence which could be exploited with a run in-behind
Making up the SAS frontline would be two wide players maintaining width, positioning themselves on the outside and up against the ROM last line of defence, here they would aim to pin the ROM fullbacks
Then, taking up the most advanced central position would be a centre forward who would aim to occupy the central defenders by a) playing up against them, which would help create space between-the-lines for the advanced midfielders and also offer a threat in-behind and b) dropping short, between-the-lines at times to either receive the ball to feet or draw out a centre back for another player to exploit and run in-behind
This 2323 in-possession structure helped SAS create numerical overloads against each line of the ROM defensive mid-block shape
In addition to these numerical overloads, and as mentioned above, whilst SAS would maintain this structure within their build up and middle third possession, there would be a number of positional interchanges within this structure e.g. the 2-3 base versus the ROM front two and often getting four players in central areas versus ROM's double pivot
Below is the same visual as used above but with arrows depicting the types of positional interchanges which could be made within this structure
As you can see above, only Chiriches would tend to maintain his position when SAS had possession, every other player could interchange with another / others to take up a new position in an attempt to disrupt the ROM defensive shape
The majority of SAS's interchanges occurred on their right flank, between Toljan, Obiang / Lopez and Traore
Toljan could advance to become the highest and widest player on their right-hand side, this often resulted in Obiang or Lopez rolling out into the narrow-right fullback position and Traore coming infield into the right half-space pocket
Toljan's interchanges seemed to be purely positional and an attempt to get other players on the ball / in space, as opposed to getting him on the ball in different areas of the pitch
Obiang and Lopez were both very versatile within this structure, with each player being able to take up three different positions, including the midfield pivot, the narrow-right fullback and the right-sided advanced central midfielder
The narrow-right fullback position was an area of the pitch both players would regularly rotate out into, this is because against ROM's mid-block there was a lot of space for the player to get on the ball in this area and then attempt forward passes and also their movement out into this area could help pull out a ROM player from their defensive shape
Completing the interchanges on the right flank would be Traore who tended to either hold his main position of being the highest and widest player on the right-hand side or come infield to the right half-space pocket where he could receive the ball between-the-lines and then using his dribbling ability infield to draw out a ROM defender
Other positional interchanges within the SAS structure included Marlon and Rogerio as left centre back and narrow-left fullback
Djuricic and Boga would interchange between the left wing and left half-space positions and Djuricic and Raspadori would also rotate between the most advanced central player and the left half-space
All of these positional interchanges would aim to disrupt and confuse the ROM defensive shape and organisation as players would be unsure as to which opposition player to track and cover, and also these rotations could help pull ROM players out of position and therefore create space for SAS to exploit
Below are some real-life examples of how SAS's structure, possession tactics and positional interchanges which are detailed above all helped disrupt ROM's defensive shape and create some attacking situations
In the first example, initially see in the image below how SAS are set up in their 2323 structure (see black lines) and ROM are in their 442 mid-block (see white lines) - the only players not shown in this image are Boga for SAS who was high and wide on the left flank and Karsdorp for ROM who was their right fullback in their mid-block shape
The SAS players are predominantly in the shape as shown in the visual examples above, the only difference being Obiang is the midfield pivot and Lopez is the right-sided advanced central midfielder
Marlon has the ball for SAS after receiving a short, horizontal pass from Chriches
Looking at the same image below, you can see Marlon is about to play a short pass ahead to Rogerio in the narrow-left fullback position which will help draw Bruno Peres towards him
However, more importantly the positions and interchange of SAS's central midfield players has helped create a gap, and therefore a passing lane, between the ROM double pivot into Raspadori - this was a regular occurrence throughout the game, as ROM's double pivot struggled to cope with SAS's numbers, and rotations, in central areas
Rogerio makes the line breaking pass into Raspadori who drops short between-the-lines to receive to feet and consequently causes both ROM central defenders to jump up towards him
Note - whilst this was a mistake and likely due to poor communication between the two defenders, Lopez's unmarked position in midfield (see the SAS player just inside the ROM half on the centre circle) may also have helped cause this with Mancini, the left-sided centre back, potentially anticipating the pass being intended for him and therefore going early to engage
Picking up the action in the next image, Raspadori has received the ball to feet and thus pulled both ROM central defenders with him which creates space for SAS's advanced central midfielders to exploit with runs in-behind - the clear intention of both Djuricic (the lower highlighted player) and Lopez initiating their runs before Raspadori has even controlled the ball are a clear indication this was a pre-planned attacking pattern of play
Once in control of the ball, Raspadori turns and plays a through ball in-behind to Lopez (the pass could have easily made to Djuricic too) and the move concludes with Lopez cutting back before shooting and hitting the foot of the post where the ball rebounds to a ROM defender who is able to clear
Whilst the above example did not lead to a goal for SAS, the chance was generated as a result of 1) their in-possession structure creating overload situations, in particular in central areas, 2) their short passing tactics helping draw out ROM players from their defensive shape and 3) their positional interchanges causing ROM players issues about who was marking / tracking who
In the next example below, again you can see SAS's in-possession structure - on this occasion, Djuricic is in the right-sided advanced central midfielder and Obiang is the left-sided which was rare throughout the game
SAS are working the ball through-the-lines and their player's movements and interchanging of position is again disrupting ROM's defensive shape
In the above image, Djuricic is playing a pass through-the-lines into Raspadori who is about to drop short and Traore (slightly obstructed in the image) has come infield to the right half-space pocket therefore drawn in the ROM defender and because of this can spin in-behind to give Raspadori and option in behind the ROM backline
The move concludes with Traore now in-behind the ROM backline, able to put a low cross across the box for Boga who is attacking the far post, as you can see below, but who somehow gets underneath the ball and puts it over the bar when he really should scored (FBref had the xG of this shot at 0.51)
Again, whilst SAS did not score from this opportunity, their in-possession structure and positional movements helped disrupt the ROM defensive shape and create a goal scoring opportunity
Getting five nominal forward players against the ROM backline in the final third and also into / around the box from crossing situations was another key feature of SAS's attacking play
As SAS progressed the ball into the final third, their shape became more 235 with five nominal forward players against the ROM backline - see image below for a visual example
In the final third, SAS's fullbacks would support the attacking play more and could offer overlaps of the widest forwards which helped those players then come inside
Despite trailing twice during the game, SAS maintained their in-possession / attacking principles throughout the game and eventually managed to equalise for a second time in the 85th minute from getting five forward players across, and between, the ROM backline and also getting bodies in the box from crossing situations
SAS's in-possession structure and passing tactics helped them maintain control throughout the game and they dominated possession (69% overall) and then their positional interchanges regularly helped disrupt ROM's defensive organisation and create multiple quality chances (13 shots in total, all of which equated to a total xG of 2.9)
However, poor quality finishing and some defensive vulnerabilities cost them, and, in the end, they had to work to get a 2-2 draw when a win would have been a more just result
Out-of-Possession:
Without the ball, SAS had different out-of-possession shapes depending on where ROM had the ball
If ROM had the ball in their own third, then SAS would execute their high block shape which was a 4141 - see visual example below
In this high block, Djuricic and Lopez would push up from central areas, alongside Raspadori to 1) engage the ROM back three and try and win possession in dangerous areas for SAS and 2) block passing lanes through the central areas of the pitch into the more advanced ROM players
The SAS wide players, Traore and Boga, would tend to hold the shape so they could 1) block passing lanes out to the ROM wingbacks and 2) be in position to get out wide and engage the ROM wingbacks if they did receive the ball (ROM would tend to try to clip lofted passes over the SAS high press into the wingbacks so the wide players would react as the ball was in flight)
Behind the top-half of this five player SAS high block would be Obiang who would cover central areas of the pitch and ensure the SAS backline of four did not get outnumbered
The SAS backline would hold a high line to help ensure their high block shape was compact from back-to-front and the fullbacks could jump out to engage any ROM players in the half-spaces
ROM were able to exploit this SAS high defensive line on a couple occasions throughout the game but more detail on this is provided in the ROM in-possession section
As ROM gained controlled possession and/or progressed the ball up the pitch, SAS would revert to their mid / low block out-of-possession shape of 451 - see visual example below
In SAS's low block, their wide midfielders would be tasked with getting back to help their fullback deal with ROM's wingbacks by either tracking them out wide and allowing the fullback to stay inside or by covering any spaces the fullback vacated by pushing out wide to engage the ROM wingback
As SAS had the majority of possession throughout the game (69%), their main defensive requirements were 1) dealing with ROM's long balls over the top of their high defensive line for runners in-behind and 2) defensive transitions as ROM tried to counterattack SAS after winning turnovers
Whilst, as previously mentioned, SAS were caught out a few times with longer, over-the-top balls in-behind, SAS were able to deal with ROM's counterattacks well on the whole, as their rest defence shape enabled them to quickly counter press once they lost possession
Even though ROM scored two goals, with a total xG of 1.6, and had 10 shots, it is worth noting that one of these goals, and therefore 0.79 of the xG, was from a penalty
SAS will, as a result, consider themselves unfortunate not to win this game as despite some vulnerabilities with their high defensive line and some individual quality from ROM players (mainly Spinazzola) overall, they limited ROM to predominantly low-quality chances using their high-block, counter pressing and their biggest defensive attribute - their ability to maintain and control possession
SAS performance with and without the ball helped restrict ROM to 31% possession and 441 touches in the game and according to FBref, both of these metrics were the lowest ROM had managed in Serie A to date this season
Roma Observations
In-Possession:
In build up, ROM would tend to get into a 343 shape but with Diawara and Pellegrini, the two central midfielders, mainly playing on different horizontal lines
Diawara would predominantly be the deepest of the two, nearer the ROM back three, and Pellegrini would be the most advanced, nearer the ROM front free
Diawara could drop into the ROM backline to find space and give them a back four at times, this 1) allowed Diawara a bit more space and time on the ball to make forward passes and 2) it allowed the wide ROM centre backs, Karsdorp and Mancini, to pull out wider towards the flanks to both receive the ball and also allow the ROM wingbacks to advance higher
Pellegrini would try to position himself in the spaces behind the top-half of the SAS high block and in the spaces either side of Obiang - and whilst this plan seemed to be a good idea in principle, ROM were unable to create many situations where they found a passing lane into him
Therefore, Pellegrini resorted to either staying high to occupy the SAS backline or dropping short to help ROM play out from the back
ROM's wingbacks, Bruno Peres and Spinazzola would occupy the flanks and give ROM width in-possession - they would both drop deeper to try and help ROM play out from the back and also stay high to offer longer out balls from the back
In advanced areas, Mayoral would lead the ROM forward line and mainly look to 1) pin the SAS centre backs and 2) offer runs in-behind - however, at times, Mayoral could also drop short to pull out a SAS central defender which allowed one of the other forward players to run in-behind to exploit the space
Completing the forward line would be Perez and Shaarawy who would be more versatile in their positioning and movements
They would each find pockets of space between-the-lines, pull out wider to attack down the sides of the SAS fullbacks or run in-behind the SAS backline from deeper positions
Both Perez and Shaarawy would try to combine and react to where other certain ROM players were e.g. work around Mayoral, Pellegrini and the wingback's positions
In the visual below you can see ROM's basic build up shape and the predominant movements each player would make
As ROM progressed the ball into the final third or when they were in attacking transitions, their wingbacks would push high to give ROM a forward line of five and then in addition to this, Pellegrini would support the attack too
This would leave the back three and Diawara behind the ball to 1) help recycle possession on the occasions they had controlled spells of the ball in the final third (which was not often) and 2) protect ROM in defensive transitions
In the below visual, you can see the basic structure ROM would get into when they progressed the ball into the final third
As mentioned, in SAS's out-of-possession section, ROM's most used attacking tactics when in-possession throughout this game were 1) longer balls over-the-top of the SAS high defensive line and 2) attacking transitions following turnovers
By far the most effective of these tactics were the longer balls over-the-top of the SAS high defensive line and below are some real-life examples of situations ROM were able to create from this tactic
In this first example, which occurred in the first half, SAS are in their 4141 high block but importantly they are not close enough to prevent the ROM central defender from making a forward pass and due to their high defensive line, the ROM forward players sense an opportunity that their centre back has time to execute a long ball over-the-top
In the image below, highlighted is Cristante who has the ball and then four of ROM's front line whose body shape is set and angled to make a run in-behind the SAS backline
Note in the image above how Cristante does have the option of a vertical passing lane into Pellegrini between-the-lines in the right half-space (circled ROM player on the halfway line in the middle of the image) but is already shaping to make the longer pass and also, the reaction of the four aforementioned ROM players, including Pellegrini, indicate the longer pass is the known plan
The long pass from Cristante ends up being controlled from Mayoral's central and well-timed run (the SAS central defenders tried to catch him offside) and despite his first touch helping kill the dropping ball, Consigli's good starting position towards the edge of the box (see image below) means he is able to get a hand following Mayoral's second touch which was an attempt to poke it past him - even though Consigli did well with this anticipation and positioning to prevent a goal, it was an attacking situation ROM would have expected to score from
Another example of ROM exploiting the SAS high defensive line occurred in the second half and also utilised the ROM build up tactic of allowing Diawara to drop into the defensive line to make a back four where he could find more time and space on the ball to make forward passes
In the image below, you can see that Diawara has dropped back into the ROM backline and therefore the wide centre backs have pulled out wider into more traditional fullback roles to give ROM a back four
Similar to the previous example, as SAS do not pressure the player in possession quick enough, the ROM forwards recognise there is an opportunity to exploit the space in-behind the SAS high defensive line with a long pass from the back - see in the image above the arm position of the ROM player behind the SAS backline, this is a signal to play a ball over-the-top
In the image below, Diawara has made the pass and the ball is inflight, and highlighted are Mayoral and Shaarawy (furthest left) - here Mayoral has made a decoy movement to come short (into the space behind where the SAS right-sided central midfielder has vacated by pushing up to engage Diawara dropping back) and Shaarawy has made an opposite run in behind the SAS backline
Again, the SAS centre backs do not deal with this situation very well and the move ends up with Shaarawy in a 1v1 situation with Consigli (see image below)
However, ROM again fail to capitalise on this good goal scoring opportunity and Consigli manages to read Shaarawy's shot to save before the ball gets picked up by a SAS defender and they clear the danger
Whilst neither of the above examples resulted in goals for ROM, this attacking tactic helped create two of their best goal scoring opportunities (the first chance did not get an xG rating as technically Mayoral did not shoot but the xG of second chance was 0.38 which after their penalty was by far highest xG of all of ROM's 10 shots - the next highest was 0.08 according to FBref)
ROM should have tried to work situations to play more of these long balls over-the-top of the SAS high defensive line, using opposite movements of their forward players
A final observation on ROM's attacking play was that they would favour attacking down their left flank, using the ball carrying ability and skill in 1v1 situations of Spinazzola - according to Whoscored.com, 47% of ROM's attacks came down their left flank
Whilst it would have been an intended tactic to focus their play down their left flank, in both controlled possession and attacking transitions, Spinazzola's individual quality was more the overriding factor in creating some promising attacking situations for ROM from this 'tactic' as opposed to any rehearsed patterns of play
In the first half, some good attacking individual play from Spinazzola where he beat the SAS right fullback in a 1v1 to put a cross into the box which led to a shot from Perez and in the second half, in a similar situation, Spinazzola again beat the right fullback following some good skill to put a cross into the box which this time was finished at the far post by Bruno Peres
Overall, despite scoring two goals, generating a total xG of 1.6 and having 10 shots on goal, ROM's attacking play was limited and they were fortunate to come away with a point
Out-of-Possession:
Out-of-possession, ROM had different defensive shapes depending on where SAS had the ball
When SAS were building up in their own third or middle third, ROM would get into a 442 out-of-possession shape, as per the visual example below
The above tended to be ROM's mid-block defensive shape, they would not press SAS too high up the pitch as they knew that's what SAS wanted them to do (in order to create and exploit space in-behind)
Instead, ROM sat in the middle of the pitch and attempted to block passes through the centre (often allowing the SAS narrow fullbacks to have the ball without trying to engage) and therefore attempt to force SAS to try and play out wide where the team could shift across as a unit to squeeze the ball and use the touchline as another defender
However, as described in SAS's in-possession section, due their patient, short passing approach, their numerical overloads and positional interchanges SAS created in central areas, it meant that the two ROM central midfielders were often pulled out of position, and this created large and frequent gaps between them for SAS to exploit and make line breaking passes to players in between-the-lines
Specific instruction of the two ROM central midfielders appeared to be for Diawara to cover Djuricic and Pellegrini to push up to engage the midfield pivot but this tactic often failed to have the desired effect and only resulted in ROM getting played through
As SAS progressed the ball into their final third then ROM would transition into a 532 out-of-possession shape with Bruno Peres dropping into the backline and Karsdorp becoming the right-sided centre back - see visual example below
In this shape ROM would prioritise defending their box by getting bodies into their own area to defend crosses, cutbacks and shots
Overall, ROM struggled to contain SAS in all areas of the pitch without the ball and despite getting a draw, with better quality finishing from SAS, ROM could (and should) have conceded more to lose this game
Result
Half-Time = 0-1
Full-Time = 2-2
Thank you for reading.
Stats used in this piece were obtained from FBref.com and Whoscored.com and visuals from both Serie A and U.S. Sassuolo Calcio official YouTube channels.
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