Roma dumps Barca out of Champions League

Roma’s Kostas Manolas headed the decisive third goal in the 82nd minute, putting the Italians in the semi-finals for the first time since it reached the European Cup final in 1984 and making amends for his own goal in the first leg at the Nou Camp. 

Roma forward Edin Dzeko had opened the scoring when he beat the offside trap and latched onto a perfectly weighted through ball from Daniele De Rossi to score in the sixth minute, lifting the hopes of the boisterous home fans in the Olympic Stadium.

Captain De Rossi converted a penalty in the 58th for the host after Dzeko was fouled by Gerard Pique, giving Roma a deserved second goal after Dzeko and his Czech strike partner Patrik Schick missed two clear chances each before the break. Barca fielded the team that thrashed Roma in the first leg with the help of two own goals and was overwhelming favourite to go through but the five-time European champion barely got a foothold in the game after falling behind to Dzeko’s opener.

Ernesto Valverde’s side was swamped by Roma’s high pressing and struggled to get hold of the ball as it was bullied in the air by the more physical Italian side, which inflicted the damage with long balls over the top and frequent crosses. The visitor’s Sergi Roberto squandered the first chance of the game but after that Barcelona struggled to respond to Roma’s constant waves of attacks until substitute Ousmane Dembele whistled a long-range shot just over the bar in added time.

The runaway La Liga leader had not lost in the Champions League this term until visiting Rome but slumped out at the quarter-final stage for the third year in a row after being eliminated by Juventus last season and Atletico Madrid in 2016.