Rudi Garcia 4-2-3-1 DLF FR - AS Roma Solo Shot (Patreon)

This was the club test for the Rudi Garcia Belgium 2026 idea.

The original Belgium version was built around the relationship between the DLF, the FR, the wide forwards and the double midfield base.

With Roma, the idea translated much better than expected.

Not as a pure possession tactic.Not as a full meta tactic.More as a structured attacking system that can still create a lot, while keeping the team defensively stable.

And the final numbers were strong.

AS Roma Solo Shot Results

🎮 55 games played✅ 41 wins➖ 7 draws❌ 7 defeats⚽ 120 goals scored🥅 43 goals conceded📈 +77 goal difference📊 74% win percentage🏆 1 cup won

Serie A

🥈 2nd place🎮 38 games played✅ 27 wins➖ 5 draws❌ 6 defeats⚽ 77 goals scored🥅 27 goals conceded📈 +50 goal difference📊 86 points

Italian Cup

🏆 WinnerFinal: AS Roma 2-0 Genoa

Europe

The European run ended with the 1-2 defeat against FC København.

That was the painful part of the save, because the overall season was very strong, but not perfect.

Tactical Idea

This is still a 4-2-3-1, but the key is not just the base formation.

The key is the central relationship:

→ Dovbyk as DLF→ Dybala as FR→ Soulé and Malen attacking from wide→ Koné and El Aynaoui giving balance behind them

The front four gave the tactic a lot of movement.

Dovbyk did not play as a static striker.Dybala did not play as a simple number 10.The wide players were not just touchline wingers.

The system worked because the attack constantly rotated around the DLF and FR connection.

Player Output

The individual numbers were very good:

⚽ Malen: 28 goals⚽ Dybala: 21 goals⚽ Soulé: 18 goals, 20 assists⚽ Dovbyk: 16 goals🎯 Angeliño: 17 assists🎯 Bryan Zaragoza: 15 assists

Soulé was probably the best example of why this shape worked.

He was not only a scorer.He was one of the main creative outlets of the system.

Data View

The data also supports the feeling from the run.

AS Roma produced:

→ 77 league goals→ 27 league goals conceded→ 74.88 xG→ 28.79 xGA→ 86 points

So this was not just a lucky league run.

The attack was productive, but the defensive side was probably the most interesting part.

Only 27 goals conceded in Serie A is strong for a tactic with this much attacking talent on the pitch.

The Data Hub also showed Roma as:

→ performing better than average overall→ performing better than average in attack→ performing better than average defensively

That is exactly what I wanted from this version.

Not just goals.Not just attacking screenshots.A proper balance between chance creation and defensive control.

Final Thoughts

This was one of the better club runs of the cycle.

The tactic did not win Serie A, because Inter were extremely strong and finished on 93 points, but Roma still reached 86 points, finished 2nd, won the Italian Cup and produced a very complete season.

This is why I like testing these recreations outside the original national-team context.

Belgium gave me the idea.Roma gave me the proof that the structure can work at club level too.

It is not just a Rudi Garcia Belgium recreation anymore.

This version feels like a proper DLF + FR 4-2-3-1, with enough attacking output and enough defensive stability to be worth sharing.