Everton-Roma 1-1. Cagliari. Building from the bottom.

Roma vs Everton. Pressing and building from the back. Overall I had a positive feeling from the friendly with Everton. Great first half and good reaction after the equaliser of the toffeemen. There was that bad break at the start of the second half when we couldn’t build from the back and were a bit distracted in defence.

When opponents press hard, they highlight our problems in construction. We need to be quicker (with one or two touches) and more smart in the distribution of the ball at this stage. Let us remember that if we have the pirolo Dovbyk come centravanti possiamo anche lanciare lungo.

Siamo stati bravi nella fase offensiva. Abbiamo una buona intesa tra ElSha-Pellegrini (Dybala)-Dovbyk- Soulé. In particolare Matias l’ho visto molto propositivo. Poi però il pressing nostro vedeva attacco e centrocampo aggressivi e la difesa che rimaneva troppo dietro. Così si crea una terra di nessuno che l’avversario può occupare facilmente.

Against Carrarese (a match won 3-1 by Cagliari), Nicola's Cagliari deployed a mobile 3412 that can also become a 4-man defense with Augello as left back in the build-up phase, or a 5-man defense with the addition of Azzi in the defensive phase.

The most dangerous player is Luvumbo, who likes to play especially on their right. Here Angelino and ElSha must do a good job both in defense and in attack.
Also watch out for Piccoli. Good on the offside line. Against us, I predict they will play with 2 forwards with one between Piccoli and Pavoletti (very strong in the air) along with Luvumbo.

As you can see, I wanted to field Cagliari with 3 midfielders. The other doubt, in addition to Piccoli-Pavoletti (the first is favored), is the most advanced midfielder with Makoumbou being better at recovering the ball, Prati in distributing the game and Viola with a greater propensity to score.

In the build-up, the center of the M is Marin as the playmaker and the first initial choice. Sometimes, Marin runs away and Deiola comes back to build.

It’s a match where it’s good to improve pressing, but it’s not essential.
Se i nostri difensori si alzano, accompagnando il pressing, possiamo anche stare uomo a uomo con Pelle su Marin, poi però, quando fanno lo scambio con Deiola, Lorenzo deve andare veloce su Deiola, se invece i difensori non si fidano a dare profondità a Piccoli e Luvumbo, questo lavoro sul playmaker avversario lo può fare Dovbyk. Dipende quale sarà il momento della partita dal punto di vista psicologico, del risultato e del cronometro e principalmente dai conseguenti ragionamenti del nostro mitico Daniele, che ha già dimostrato l’anno scorso di essere un ottimo allenatore.

It is essential to do a good defensive phase and be able to build with continuity, given that they often press high, probably also pressing our full-backs with their fifth midfielders,
especially Augello on Celik. Although Augello often plays as a defensive back, he has more of an offensive attitude than Azzi (and less defensive). Augello also makes excellent crosses with his left foot. If we are good at building, we can find them exposed over there.

They are very dangerous on free kicks from crosses, while on opponents' corners they defend in a zone.

As we have seen, improving in building from the bottom is an important issue for Roma in general, but also specifically for the match against Cagliari. Likewise, if the government really did the will of the people, as they say, that is, built from the bottom well, Netanyahu, Putin and Khamenei would make peace. Daje Roma!

Giordano Sepi