Champions League: Three talking points from Real Madrid’s win over Roma
By Ryan Wrenn
Mohamed Salah can run
Roma made no secret of their plan for this game. Right from the very start, much of the defense and the midfield had a target: Mohamed Salah.
The Chelsea loanee is quick. Very quick, and he knows how to run with the ball at his feet. For a team that set up from the start to contain Real and try to catch them out on the break, the Egyptian was always going to be a vital weapon.
Real should have been anticipating this. When Roma played in the Stadio Olimpico against Barcelona in the Champions League group stages earlier this season, Salah was used in much the same way. Long punts and clearances were directed toward Salah’s right side of the pitch in disproportionate numbers. Roma knew that it would be easier to slip around Barcelona’s defense than through it, and a player with Salah’s pace was the best route they could take.
The strategy of favoring Salah worked about as well on Wednesday night against Real as it did against Barcelona. Which is to say that, in a way, it didn’t work. At least not as an offensive tool.
From a defensive perspective, though, it did help. It allowed Roma’s midfield and backline to stay relatively deep while Salah led the charge with Diego Pelotti and Stephan El Shaarawy alongside him. Doing so kept Real bottled up deep into the second half, when Ronaldo decided to show up at the party.