Swissquote match analysis: Brighton 1-0 Roma

In this article brought to you by Swissquote, UEFA technical observer David James working together with UEFA's analysis unit, outlines three key tactical features from Brighton's 1-0 victory against Roma in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League round of 16 tie.

Team formations

Brighton link up on left to cause problems for Roma 

With Brighton trailing 4-0 after the first leg, it was always going to be difficult for Roberto De Zerbi's side to overcome that deficit. However, the English Premier League side depart the competition with much to be encouraged by as they produced an impressive victory over their Italian opponents on Thursday evening.

The home side made a quick start, with much of their positive attacking play coming through clever link-up work between Pervis Estupiñán and Julio Enciso on the left.

"Estupiñán and Enciso linked really well together, with one inverting inside and the other staying wide," noted UEFA technical observer David James. "The goal is a perfect example of this: Enciso comes narrow to play closely with Danny Welbeck while Estupiñán stays wide and creates a 2v2 with Welbeck on the edge of the box. The finish that follows is high quality."

With Roma producing a defensive masterclass in all areas of the pitch (more below), Brighton had to utilise a variety of different attacking strategies to break down their opponents. With Estupiñán and Enciso providing a threat in both wide and central areas, the home side were able to add an element of surprise to their attacking play, contributing effectively to their breakthrough after 36 minutes.

Gross shows positional flexibility to help Brighton control possession

With Roma pressing man for man during Brighton's build-up play and equally adept at switching to a low block in their own half, De Zerbi's side had to show game intelligence and positional flexibility in order to control the play. Much of this control was established by their technically accomplished midfield trio of Pascal Gross, Adam Lallana and Billy Gilmour.

"Gross picked up excellent positions throughout the match," said James. "His positioning allowed him to get on the ball or occupy defenders and create space for his team-mates. Gross ended up playing multiple positions during the game as Brighton looked to change shape to find a way back into the tie."

Intent on managing the game and protecting their first-leg lead, Daniele De Rossi's Roma adopted a compact and central shape. As a result, Brighton had to do much of their creative work in wide areas. With Gross comfortable delivering crosses and through passes with both feet, he regularly found himself drifting from central to wide areas.

"Gross crossed the ball into the box for Simon Adingra's key chance in the second half, which if scored on 61 minutes would have taken the tie to 4-2," adds James. "The clips show him in three different positions and picking the ball up a number of times in the same clip. The midfielder moves the ball quickly and makes movements into excellent areas, sometimes not receiving the ball."

The clips show how the German midfielder constantly scans the pitch when he is looking to receive the ball. By assessing and understanding his surroundings before receiving, Gross was often able to play first-time passes to eliminate his opponent and add speed to Brighton's attack.

Mancini leads Roma masterclass in defending their box

For all Brighton's attacking efforts, Roma's ability to defend their first-leg lead was a key feature of this second-leg tie. At different stages of the game, De Rossi's side moved efficiently from a high press of six players to a low block of nine or ten. Within this, there were many changes of shape with the Italian side adopting a back three, four or five depending on the situation. At the heart of their defensive organisation was Gianluca Mancini.

"Mancini led his defence well throughout the match," noted James. "The central defender was key in helping to limit the number of chances Brighton had on Roma's goal. As a whole, they defended the box well against crosses and Mancini stood out both defending inside his box and outside when Roma sat in their low to mid-block shape."

De Rossi's side were tireless in their out-of-possession work: pressing Brighton high and aggressively in the first half and resolutely defending in a low block in the second. Their back line was also quick to step out into midfield to close the space down for Brighton's attacking midfield players.