Lazio 1-2 Roma: Ranieri gets his starting line-up wrong, but fixes it at half-time
First half
Claudio Ranieri is a manager renowned for his surprise (and slightly baffling substitutions) – even being nicknamed ‘the tinkerman’ as a result. When he gets to the end of his career, however, he may well look at his substitutions in this Rome Derby as the most important of his career.
Lazio came into the game on a five-match unbeaten run with the 3-5-2 system they stuck with here. Tomasso Rocchi played around Sergio Floccari, whilst the wing-backs shuttled up and down energetically, forming a back five at times, and yet also being Lazio’s biggest threat going forward.
Ranieri named Francesco Totti, Mirko Vucinic and Luca Toni in the same starting XI for just the second time since Toni arrived in January. The first occasion, a 0-1 win in Bari, featured a right-winger in Rodrigo Taddei, with Vucinic on the left in a standard 4-2-3-1 shape. Today, however, Roma had three central midfielders, and therefore Roma lined up in an exciting-looking 4-3-3 shape, with Toni as the prima punta, Vucinic playing slightly to the left, and Totti just behind to the right.
It was a mouth-watering prospect on paper – Roma’s top-scorer this season (Vucinic) alongside two former European Golden Boot winners, and Giallorossi fans haven’t seen such a potent tridente since the Totti-Batistuta-Montella combination that fired them to their last Scudetto in 2001.
In the first half, however, Roma were awful. The gap between the midfield and the attack was huge, with no link player and no-one stationed in wide areas to stretch the play. Roma’s problem started from the back. Rocchi would drift to the wing when out of possession, meaning only one Roma full-back would be able to get forward and join the attack. When he did, he would be met by one of the Lazio wing-backs high up the pitch, whilst the opposite wing-back would drop back level with his centre-backs, allowing them to shift across and making a four-man defence.
Therefore, there was little threat from full-back and little in the centre of midfield, too – Roma’s three sat very deep and when they did come forward, they were met by Lazio’s trio, and the effect of six central midfielders and only two players from either side stationed on the flanks was a bitty, scrappy game that favoured Lazio, the weaker side.
And it was Lazio who looked the bigger threat on the break, as the players charged with picking up the Lazio wing-backs were Roma’s full-backs – generally around thirty yards deeper than where they picked up the ball, and so Lazio’s wing-backs were able to pick up the ball and run at pace before beating their man. Their attacking intent was signalled by the fact that, on one ocassion, Kolarov’s cross was met at the far post by Lichsteiner.
Surprisingly, Lazio’s goal came from the centre – Ledesma’s through ball found Rocchi, who had made a run in behind, and he beat Julio Sergio to put Lazio 1-0 ahead.
Roma became more attacking but still struggled to get their front three into the game. Part of the problem was that all three were operating so centrally, playing into the hands of the Lazio three-man defence, who are most vulnerable when they are stretched and attacked from wide positions.
Here are two examples of Roma’s lack of width towards the end of the first half:
Here, Roma’s strikers (joined by Perrotta in the first picture) are simply too narrow. The Stadio Olimpico pitch is 68 metres wide, and here the Roma attack is only covering about 5 metres of it.
A change at half-time was inevitable, but no-one would have guessed that it would be Roma’s two golden boys, Francesco Totti and Daniele de Rossi - both Rome born and bred, both one-club men, the club captain and vice-captain respectively – to make way. Both had been poor by their standards, and both were on a booking, but it was a brave move by Ranieri, and as he later admitted, had Roma not won the game, he would have been slaughtered.
Second half
To replace them, Ranieri chose Jeremy Menez, who played centrally, and Rodrigo Taddei, who played from the right. Vucinic played a slightly wider role on the left, with Toni now happier with no-one occupying ‘his’ space.
Then, we had a huge turning point in the game – and the season – as Floccari missed a penalty, and blew the chance to put Lazio 2-0 up. Had that gone in, Roma might well have lost the game, and we wouldn’t be commenting on what great substitutions Ranieri made – it sums up how important individual moments can be.
After that, Roma were galvanised, and earned a penalty of their own. Taddei, whose right-sided threat had subdued Kolarov’s attacking tendencies, was tripped and Vucinic smashed home the penalty.
Menez was a constant threat with his direct running – something Roma blatantly missed in the first half – and he earned a free-kick on the edge of the area. Again, Vucinic stepped up and unleashed a thunderbolt of a free-kick into the net, and Roma had turned the game around.
No-one would claim that Taddei and Menez were better footballers than de Rossi and Totti, but Roma were far better off in the second half. In the first they had been one-dimensional, focussed on playing long balls for three forwards to challenge for. In the second they added pace to their aerial threat, and Taddei and Menez genuinely changed the game. It was fitting that the two Vucinic goals from dead ball situation both arose from fouls on the two substitutes - the penalty and free-kick simply wouldn’t have been won in the first half, as Roma didn’t offer that kind of threat.
Lazio threw on Mauro Zarate and seemed to switch to a 4-3-3, but Roma did well to get ten men behind the ball, and close the game out – the final 15 minutes was stop-start because of substitutions, injuries, free-kicks and scuffles between the teams, and Lazio couldn’t create any clear-cut chances.
Ranieri unquestionably got his initial selection wrong – against a three-man defence, you simply must offer an attacking threat in wide zones, and his narrow striking tridente barely troubled Lazio. One must give immense credit to him for acknowledging his error and correcting it at half-time – taking de Rossi and Totti off in a crucial Rome derby is like removing Lennon and McCartney from a Beatles farewell tour – and it was a classic example both of (a) how managers must play the eleven players that work well together, not merely the eleven best players, and (b) that more strikers doesn’t equal more goals – you have to create chances before you can finish them.
Lazio 1-2 Roma: Ranieri gets his starting line-up wrong, but fixes it at half-time
Even in the second half, Roma failed to create a satisfying amount of chances. Still playing too narrowly, imo. The penalty saving is indeed the turning point. Putting Zárate on earlier may really help, Roma appeared vulnerable on the left flank.
I tend to agree – I’m surprised that it wasn’t Toni to give way rather than Totti.
Great stuff as ever mate. Sending on Taddei to pin back Kolarov and pushing Vucinic wide completely changed the game. You could see how much it frustrated Lichtsteiner by the way he stormed off the pitch when he was substituted.
Terrible penalty from Floccari though. On such moments of individual weakness are championships won and lost.
Indeed, the contrast between the two penalties was incredible!
You failed to mention Ranieri’s final sub – Brighi. Everyone seems to forget about that guy. Before he came on Riise was having a whole lot of trouble dealing with the more clever and faster Zarate. But when Brighi came on I don’t think Zarate touched the ball again.
I agree, that was a brlliant change by Ranieri. Riise struggled from the first second against Zarate, and I was shouting out for someone to help him. Luckily, Ranieri read my thoughts, and in the last 15 minutes Lazio weren’t much of a treath.
Indeed, very fair point.
Great article again; is it just me or was Roma playing a 4-2-4 in the second half?
Yeah, certainly not far off it – pretty similar to the shape Barcelona played against Valencia, for example, with one main striker and three in close attendance.
I found myself yelling at Roma in the first half for sending so many long passes upfield. Lazio recovered the ball almost every time.
Toni is tall, but he isn’t THAT tall.
Great website with good tctical analysis and talks about my team roma. ALso you interact with the fans … will come often and will recommend this site.
Do you think Totti and Toni can play together again? I love both players but are no slow and immobile and seem to move around in the same area. I think totti’s 3/4 days are over no more attacking mid too and with 2 up top it just doesn’t work with toni. What do you think?
I can only see it in a 4-2-3-1 – Vucinic on the left, Totti in the hole and Toni upfront. And presumably Taddei on the right. But that would mean dropping one of de Rossi, Perrotta or Pizarro which is not ideal…so I tend to agree, I don’t think those three will play together for the rest of the season.
Grazie for the compliments
I would dearly love to see Ranieri drop Perrotta (not out of the squad altogether, but out of the starting eleven), especially because that’s really the only way Totti and Toni are going to be able to play together effectively. Perrotta’s best as the linkup between De Rossi/Pizarro and Totti, but that doesn’t work when Totti isn’t supposed to be the furthest forward. Even before Toni’s arrival, his occupying the central attacking position pushed Totti forward and Vucinic even wider than he tends to play. Menez gets shunted out to one wing or the other, too, and I think he’s far more effective when he has the freedom to roam all around the attacking third.
the only way I see ToTo (toni/totti) playing together is if totti gets space to roam and travel with the ball. otherwise it will just get too static and they will be forced to play the long ball game and just hope to get some chances. with that said, I do believe that ToTo can work against smaller sides that park the buss. but if teams crowd the midfield and press up high (like Nazio) then it wont work because of all the central midfielders.