Roma 1 - 2 Cagliari

Not the result fans were hoping for. After a summer of new signings, much media hype, questions over the manager's suitability and worries about tensions inside the camp, Roma needed a win.

That they failed to secure one is no one's fault but their own. Rome's biggest sport's daily, Il Corriere dello Sport, called them "una squadra frenata", a blocked team that was "quasi paura di correre", almost afraid to run. And it's hard to argue. Cagliari spent just 15% of the match in Roma's final third and had just three shots on target, yet they managed to score twice. Roma, on the other hand, spent 49% in the middle of the park and 36% in front of goal, managing nine shots on goal but failing to score until the final play of the game, when it was already too late. At crucial moments they looked unsure of themselves, wasting the lion's share of possession and chance after chance.

The great shame in this is that Roma didn't play that poorly. With the exception of Bojan – who looked like a confused and lonely boy in a field of men – for the most part they played well, dominating possession and stringing together a lot of good passes.  Sure, Angel's idiotic tackle in the box spoilt an otherwise excellent afternoon for the Spaniard and put his team in jeopardy, and Perrotta, who was played in an unfamiliar role right of centre, did not (either by choice or by Luis Enrique's design) get forward in the manner most would expect him to and thus offered little,  but they weren't appalling performances. Even Osvaldo, who couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, showed pace and a positional sense that is encouraging.

Daniele De Rossi underlined his importance to the team with a solid performance. The Roman was imperious in defense, and when Gago came on late in the game offering some extra defensive cover in midfield, he was impressive going forward, too. His goal might have been too little, too late, but the 71 successful passes he made we fundamental to Roma's dominance in the centre of the park and on another day would have been enough to influence a different result.

Miralem Pjanic made an impressive debut, linking up well with his teammates – despite not speaking a word of Italian yet – and showing off some slick moves. Aside from De Rossi, the Bosnian completed more passes than any other and had as many shots as Francesco Totti – four.

The first surprise of the day was Gabriele Heinze, who took charge early on and even got forward on several occasions. At 33, he is not a long-term answer, but on the basis of this first performance he is a player that any team in the league would be lucky to have in its squad. With the Argentine as back-up for Burdisso, Simon Kjaer and Juan, Roma have a sturdy central defense – even if it will take some fans time to get over the loss of Philippe Mexes.

The second was Bojan. Surely no one expected him to be as ineffective. Unsurprisingly for a player fresh off the plane from Spain, he struggled with the direct physicality of the Cagliari back-line, but for a player of his potential he should have done much better. Some have mentioned his size as a factor that may hold him back, but at 1.7m he is the same height as Wesley Sneijder and Lionel Messi and just three centimetres shy of Sergio Aguero, all three of whom are walking proof that good things can come in small packages. The aforementioned trio have proven that with a mixture of speed, intelligence and guile a player's diminutive stature need not hold him back – the caveat being, of course, that the diminutive player in question must possess some speed, intelligence and guile. It would be foolish to write the Barca graduate off on the basis of his first league performance, but if he's to be a key figure in Enrique's Roma, then he'll have to improve.

The above graphic (borrowed from Il Corriere dello Sport ... ) of Roma's attacking frequency against Cagliari shows just how ineffective they were down the left with Bojan. De Rossi, Pjanic and Totti all combined well down the middle and as such the 64% is unsurprising, but that only 15% of the attacking pressure came from Bojan's territory – especially as he had, for most of the game anyway, Angel's impressive running to supply him – is damning. Even Osvaldo, unsure of himself and supported only sporadically by Rosi and Perrotta, managed better – more than 33% better than Bojan's figure, in fact.

Another surprise was Fabio Borini, the 20-year-old from the small town of Bentivoglio (just north of Bologna), who was signed by Parma from Chelsea this summer only to be loaned to i Lupi for the season, with an option to buy at the end of it. With his first touch in Serie A the Azzurini star had the ball in the back of the net, albiet after the linesman had flagged for Heinze's offside. Not quite the fairytale start, then, but one that shows plenty of promise and hints at a touch of magic to come.

Formation vs. avg pitch position






Roma's possession was congested in the middle of the park and stifled by an organised Cagliari side who set out to frustrate. Happy to defend in numbers and wait for their chance – taken again by Daniele Conti, son of Roma legend Bruno and perpetual thwarter of Roman desires – to strike. Perhaps against opposition more focused on getting forward, thus leaving space for Roma to work in, the giallorossi might have done better – but that's no excuse. A team of Roma's stature and quality should not have been so easily frustrated by such an obvious tactic. They will be offered more space in other games, certainly, but they will face tougher defenses too, and cleverer midfields.

With so many fresh faces, a new formation and a new emphasis on tiki-taka style passing, Luis Enrique probably tried to do too much, too fast. But disappointing as the result is, the season is long and there will be much time for redemption. La Gazzetta dello Sport described what we all saw as "una squadra in mezzo al guado: né bella né cinica" – a team mid-stream; neither beautiful or cynical. Let's hope that they can become the former before pressure from the media and the fans turns them into the latter.