Roma put in a half-hearted and at times embarrassing performance as they lost 1-0 at home to Villarreal, but still qualified 4-1 on aggregate.
See how this game and Fiorentina-Borussia Monchengladbach unfurl on the Liveblog.
Roma put in a half-hearted and at times embarrassing performance as they lost 1-0 at home to Villarreal, but still qualified 4-1 on aggregate.
See how this game and Fiorentina-Borussia Monchengladbach unfurl on the Liveblog.
Edin Dzeko’s hat-trick had helped secure an extraordinary 4-0 first leg victory in Spain, so a spot in the Round of 16 of the Europa League seemed like a formality. Luciano Spalletti and Fran Escriba rotated their squads, Roberto Soldado getting his first start since a serious knee injury in August.
Roberto Soriano almost scored after 10 minutes with a wayward volleyed cross-shot that looped up to bounce off the crossbar.
The sluggish Giallorossi didn’t heed the warning and conceded the opening goal thanks to a howler from Thomas Vermaelen, who half-heartedly tried to clear a cross, instead setting it up for Rafael Borre’ to fire in from 10 yards.
Daniele Bonera crucially intercepted a Bruno Peres cross with Stephan El Shaarawy waiting to tap in, but Alisson had to make a difficult reaction save at the near top corner on Rodrigo Hernandez’s strike.
As the half wore on, Roma couldn’t keep the ball for longer than 10 seconds, as they constantly misplaced passes and Alisson had his gloves stung by a long-range Roberto Soriano effort. The Giallorossi were always second to the ball and Bruno Peres had to intercept the through ball after Borre’ dribbled past two defenders.
After the restart, Roma had their first genuine chance, a give-and-go between Diego Perotti and El Shaarawy interrupted by ex-Milan defender Bonera.
However, Villarreal continued to push and Alisson palmed a Borre’ strike out from under the bar and Perotti stung Andres Fernandez’s gloves from distance.
Totti’s free kick hit Soriano’s hand in the wall, but the referee waved away penalty appeals, while the captain blasted over from a Perotti pull-back.
Antonio Rudiger had only come on at half-time, but got himself sent off with a second bookable offence. As they waited for a Roma free kick to be taken, Rudiger put both hands on the face and throat of Adrian Lopez to shove him aside and it was an inevitable dismissal.
Alisson completed his best performance of the season with another two decisive saves in the final minutes, getting a lone finger on to Borre’s angled drive and then flying to beat away his fierce strike from the edge of the box.
Roma 0-1 Villarreal (4-1 agg)
Borre 16 (V)
Roma: Alisson; Manolas (Rudiger 46), Vermaelen, Juan Jesus; Peres (Fazio 84), De Rossi (Nainggolan 76), Paredes, Mario Rui; Perotti, El Shaarawy, Totti
Villarreal: Fernandez; Rukavina, Alvaro, Bonera, Josè Angel; R Soriano, Hernandez, B Soriano (Dos Santos 77), Cheryshev (Bakambu 73); Soldado (Adrian Lopez 65), Borrè
Ref: Zwayer (GER)
Sent off: Rudiger 81 (R)