Round of 16 Fan Preview: AS Roma

In what many would claim as an upset, Roma finished at the top of Group C against perennial Champions League challengers Chelsea and Atletico Madrid. Eusebio Di Francesco has transformed this Roma team from being the laughingstocks of the Champions League into opponents to be feared.

Roma’s next opponent in the Round of Sixteen is Shakhtar Donetsk. Having been in a group with both Guardiola’s Manchester City and Sarri’s Napoli, it is easy to forgive the average fan for simply counting out Shakhtar; however, this would prove to be a mistake. Led by Portuguese manager Paulo Fonseca, the Ukranian superpower has been able to continue their dominance over the league after the departure of long-time manager Mircea Lucescu. They finished first in the Ukranian Premier League last season while finishing second in their Champions League group this season. The Portuguese has implemented a 4-2-3-1 system and allowed them to play possession-oriented attacking football. This system has allowed him to compete toe-to-toe with even renowned offensive football geniuses Guardiola and Sarri. He bested Sarri in both of their matchups while he defeated Guardiola in their second matchup (granted it was a heavily rotated Manchester City side) to deny Manchester City from finishing the group undefeated and condemning Napoli to the Europa League.

For the average fan who has most likely not watched much of Shakhtar bar their big Champions League matches, here’s a quick overview of Paulo Fonseca’s tactics. Fonseca’s tactics involve Shakhtar’s fullbacks to staying high up out wide and serving as an overlap option or opening up space for an underlap run from the midfield players. Any of those players can then cross it or cut it back to one of three or four players attacking the space in front of goal. Shakhtar use their possession to pull apart the shape of opposition teams and then attack the space left open to them. If that approach does not work, then they will use either one of the pivot men or their center backs to break the lines in quick succession and counter attack on what would seem like a reset. The players position themselves in in a way to form passing triangles in order to manipulate the space given to them and deliver a killer blow to the defence. In defence, the team defends in 4-4-2/4-1-3-2 depending on where the ball is on the field and deploy a man-marking system. They also play a high line and play an audacious offside line that rarely fails. With these tactics, Fonseca has his team set up for success.

Shakhtar’s most important player has to be Fred. The mobile regista is the heart of Shakhtar; he serves as the metronome of the team as they probe for an opening in the opponent’s defence while his line-breaking passes quickly start counterattacks. During the defensive phase of the game, he will often serve as the spare men and recover the ball and initiate a deadly counterattack. Fred’s specialty though is attack. With one pass, he is able to take out five players and set his teammates up for a goal-scoring chance. His passing ability in Shakhtar’s buildup allow them to play at a high-tempo and also play attractive, attacking football. He is press-resistant and easily able to find his teammates for a quick one-two in order to create chaos in the opposition team’s defense. Even when he does not have the ball, Fred is able to be very effective. His importance to the team will see teams pay more attention to him; Fred uses this to his advantage as he will use himself as a decoy to open up space for his teammates. His positioning is also very good as he is able to always receive a pass from his teammate and form a passing triangle with them. It is no wonder Guardiola reportedly has him lined up as Fernandinho’s replacement.