Match report
FULL TIME: Real Madrid 2-0 Roma (agg 4-0)
Perotti, tight on the dead-ball line on the left, chips across for Dzeko, but it’s an inch too high. No consolation for the Italians, and that’s that. Real, on the face of it, have eased through to the quarter finals. But they were far from impressive defensively, and a more sharp-shooting team than Roma would have had them in all sorts of trouble. A comfortable result, but this wasn’t the display of potential European champions.
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90 min +2: Totti has a belt from 20 yards. It’s heading towards the top left, but Ramos flings himself in front of the shot and it’s deflected out for a corner. Navas punches the set piece clear.
90 min +1: There will be three added minutes. One of them passes without fuss.
90 min: James has a whack from 12 yards out on the left. It’s deflected away for a corner on the right. From the set piece, Totti picks up possession in his own area, dribbles around awhile, then rolls a calm clearing pass up the centre of the field and away from danger. A class act to the end.
88 min: Salah zips down the right. He loops a cross towards Perotti, 12 yards out and level with the left-hand post. Perotti sends a screaming volley onto the base of that post; the ball comes back out, off Navas, and away from danger. Roma have missed some chances tonight, but that was pure bad luck. When it’s not your night, it’s not your night.
87 min: Ronaldo feeds James down the inside-right channel. James should shoot, but tries to return the ball, which is bundled out for a corner. From the set piece, Danilo belts high over the bar.
86 min: Keita is replaced by Maicon. Florenzi romps down the middle. He one-twos with Totti, and would be through on goal had he anticipated the return. But he goes right instead of left, and Real clear.
84 min: Kovacic comes on for Casemiro. Danilo tears down the right and fires low and hard through the six-yard box. Ronaldo is waiting to tap in, but Manolas sticks out a leg to divert the ball away from danger. Marvellous defending. Now there’s a phrase we’ve not had the chance to trot out too often tonight.
83 min: James and Ronaldo one-two down the inside-right channel. Ronaldo’s return should give his team-mate a goalscoring chance just inside the area, but James stumbles and the chance is gone.
81 min: Corner for Roma on the left. Totti comes across to magic-wand one into the area. He finds the head of Zukanovic, on the penalty spot, but the defender can only head weakly downwards and straight at Navas. Real go up the other end, Lucas Vazquez sending a screecher inches over the bar from 25 yards.
79 min: James comes in from the right and curls a bobbler towards the bottom left. Szczesny has it covered, and it’s going wide anyway. Everyone’s just throwing training-ground shapes now, at a pre-season pace. Strange to think how Roma were seriously bothering Real only a quarter of an hour ago.
78 min: Kroos, 25 yards out and central, drops a shoulder to the left before unleashing a fierce riser goalwards. But it’s straight at Shiner Szczesny, who parries to the floor before gathering.
76 min: Zukanovic is booked for a rare old clatter on James. He can’t complain. And to be fair, he doesn’t.
75 min: “Sorry for my continuous writing-in but this is annoying me,” seethes this report’s co-author Ruth Purdue. “I don’t know about you but I was taught to weigh up the angles when you shoot, to see what percentage of the goal is open and use the appropriate area of your body accordingly to exploit that. Simple stuff. Can Roma bring on Totti now to show them how?” Good news, Ruth: here he comes, taking the place of El Shaarway. Meanwhile Real swap Modric with Jese.
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74 min: Space for Marcelo on the left. He chips a diagonal pass across for Ronaldo, who meets the dropping ball with a volley from the right-hand corner of the six-yard box. Blooter! No good!
72 min: Real knock it around the midfield awhile, with a view to running down the clock.
70 min: It should be 3-0, as Roma fall apart. It’s actually a Roma corner, but the hosts clear easily and romp up the other end. James makes his way down the middle, and slips a ball to Ronaldo on his left. Ronaldo is clear in the area, but though his sidefoot towards the bottom right beats Szczesny, it’s wide of the post. A terrible miss, really, though it doesn’t matter. Real are through, Roma have suddenly fallen apart. What a very, very strange game this has been.
GOAL! Real Madrid 2-0 Roma (James Rodriguez 68; agg 4-0)
Yep, this is over. Roma are caught light at the back. Ronaldo runs at them down the inside left. He slides a pass down the channel for James, who hammers a low shot from a tight angle through Szczesny, the keeper beaten at his near post. Real, for all their faults defensively, have at least taken their chances when they’ve come along. Roma take note.
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66 min: Szczesny took a smack in the coupon while attempting to stop that goal. He’ll have a rare old shiner in the morning.
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GOAL! Real Madrid 1-0 Roma (Ronaldo 64; agg 3-0)
Real have been pretty poor tonight, but suddenly there’s relief. The substitute Lucas Vazquez makes an instant impact, dribbling with purpose down the right and whipping low into the centre, where Ronaldo nips in ahead of Manolas and sidefoots into the net. That’s 13 goals in eight games for Ronaldo! Roma will now start thinking about all those missed chances quite a lot, and with some regret.
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63 min: Salah scampers down the right at speed. Marcelo doesn’t bother putting in a challenge. Salah nears the corner flag, then skelps a low cross towards the near post. El Shaarway, on the right-hand corner of the six-yard box, attempts to flick into the left-hand portion of the net, but can’t connect properly.
61 min: Real have at least been dangerous themselves in attack. Two shots squirm wide right of Szczesny’s goal in quick succession, the first by Kroos, the second by Ronaldo. And then Zidane makes his first change of the match, hooking the not-fully-fit Bale and sending on Lucas Vazquez.
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58 min: Up the other end, Modric drops a shoulder down the right and looks for the top left. His shot is deflected wide left and high. The corner is dealt with easily enough by Roma. The home fans sound a little concerned. Their team are still hot favourites to go through, but have done their level best to knacker things up for themselves. Roma could have had four or five!
56 min: Florenzi flicks a ball past a flailing Ramos down the inside-right channel. He’s got space just inside the box, and lashes towards the top left. Navas parries into the air. Ramos gets back to head over the bar before Dzeko can follow up with a shot towards an unguarded net. From the corner, the ball drops to Manolas, who is faced with a tight angle on the left. His shot is low and hard, and parried clear by Navas, who is suddenly the only Real Madrid player offering resistance. Real are an abject shambles at the back; a side more lethal than Roma would be thrashing them right now.
54 min: Manolas places a poor clearing header straight at Marcelo’s feet. Marcelo’s on the left-hand corner of the D, but his shot is weak and easily gathered by Szczesny. “This is starting to get embarrassing now for Salah,” opines Ruth Purdue, who can speak for me.
53 min: Ronaldo has a whack from 20-odd yards. Szczesny parries easily enough. Casemiro then dispatches an ambitious one goalwards from 25. It’s deflected over for a corner, which comes to nothing.
51 min: A flurry of action in the Roma box. Marcelo and Ronaldo take turns to dribble around to the left of goal. Neither can get a clean shot away. The ball’s pulled back to James on the penalty spot. He unleashes a pearler goalwards, but straight at Szczesny, who parries well. Then Roma break upfield, and a simple ball down the middle by Dzeko sends Salah clear into the area. He has to score, but slaps a low shot inches wide of the right-hand post. Within 60 seconds, Roma could have been out of it. And then right back in it. They should have had three goals tonight. Each miss has been appalling, bordering on disgraceful at this level. Salah wants shooting for his shooting.
49 min: A better cross from the Real left, this time by Pepe, but Zukanovic gets there ahead of Ronaldo. Corner, from which nowt occurs. It would appear the hosts have been sent out for the second half with a flea in the collective ear. For they look right up for this now, in a way they never did during the first half.
48 min: The Ronaldo neck twitches again. James is sent scampering into acres down the left, but his cross is high and poor. Ronaldo was free, eight yards out, and pound to a penny he’s got a cob on regarding the poor delivery from both flanks.
47 min: Modric bursts down the inside-right channel and slides a ball out right for Danilo, whose cross very nearly finds the head of Ronaldo, six yards out, in the centre. Ronaldo was straining his neck muscles there, but to no avail.
The second half is underway!
Roma get this one going. Vainqueur comes on for Pjanic. The visitors will still harbour hopes after carving out those first-half chances. But they’ll also be aware that Real scored six in the second half last weekend. So it’s swings and roundabouts.
Half-time entertainment:
HALF TIME: Real Madrid 0-0 Roma (agg 2-0)
One minute of additional time is played in this first half. Ronaldo, the best part of 30 yards out down the right, takes a shot. It’s deflected out for a corner, which leads to Marcelo finding the top left of the stand behind the goal. And that’s that for the first half. Roma are not out of this tie yet. They should in all honesty be right back in it. But they’ve not taken the chances offered up by their defensively tatty hosts. It could be a dramatic second half. Or a complete anti-climax. Either way, don’t go anywhere!
43 min: Bale cuts in from the left and curls a cross-cum-shot into the area. It’s immediately blocked by the forearm of Florenzi. Bale claims a penalty kick, but the Roma captain was standing right next to him and his arm was hanging limply by his side. No intent, no penalty.
42 min: Pjanic, out on the left, swings a slow ball towards Salah on the Real penalty spot. Salah shoots for the bottom right, but he doesn’t connect properly and Navas can easily claim. That’s two-and-a-half good chances for Roma now, with one-and-a-half falling to Salah.
40 min: Ronaldo attempts a rabona down the right. It doesn’t come off. More whistles! Tough crowd. Just the 39 goals so far this season. What a loser.
39 min: A slight lull as the play gets scrappy and the crowd fall quiet. The only noise comes when the home fans give James the bird for a misplaced pass. There’s always at least one fall guy at the Bernabeu.
37 min: Danilo comes straight through the back of El Shaarawy, and can have no complaints at being booked. Why he made the challenge is anyone’s guess, as the Roma man was deep inside his own half and going nowhere.
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36 min: Bale is found in some space down the left. He whip-cracks a gorgeous low cross through the six-yard box. James and Ronaldo both try to extend a leg to poke the ball over the line, but both curse the fact they cut their toe-nails last night.
34 min: Bale slides a pass down the inside-left channel to release Ronaldo into the box. Ronaldo looks to slide low into the bottom right, but Szczesny is out quickly to smother. Corner, from which Marcelo blazes over from 25 yards. This could be 2-0, 0-2, or anything in between. How is it still 0-0?!?
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33 min: Danilo and Dzeko have clattered into each other while challenging for a high ball. Again, it looks like the magic sponge will do the trick, but there’s a pause while the medicine men do their thing.
31 min: Once again, Real respond to giving up a big chance by creating a couple of their own. Bale takes a shot from distance down the left channel; it’s way too high. Then Ronaldo has a go; it’s a low fizzer, but met by Szczesny. It’s not clear how this is still 0-0.
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28 min: Another huge miss for Roma! Danilo is bowled over down the right by Digne. It should be a free kick, but Real don’t get it. Roma sweep up the other end, Pjanic sliding a ball down the inside-right channel to release Salah into the area. Salah only needs to lift the ball gently over Navas, who has come off his line and is sprawled in no-man’s land. But he sends his chip wide right of the goal. For all Real’s possession, this really should be 2-0 to Roma. They’ve had two glorious chances to get right back into this tie. They’ll be feeling sick at their profligacy. Their only consolation is that Real look useless at the back.
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26 min: Digne curls a ball into the Real box from the left. El Shaarawy flicks a header on, but it sails over the bar. The visitors haven’t seriously warmed Navas’s gloves yet, though of course Dzeko certainly should have.
24 min: James, tight on the right, flicks a ball inside to release Danilo into a lot of space. Danilo should find Ronaldo on the edge of the box with a low cross, but his pass is woeful. Ronaldo starts to throw his arms into the air in frustration, but doesn’t follow through with the action, perhaps deciding that he’s already made his point this week about team-mates letting him down.
22 min: Modric has a dig from distance. A slight nick takes the ball towards the right-hand corner, momentarily wrong-footing Szczesny, but the keeper readjusts to parry clear. Then a couple of corners for the home side, the second finding James on the edge of the area with the ball at his feet. He chips weakly wide left; not sure whether he was trying to shoot or scoop a pass towards a team-mate. Either way, it didn’t come off. Goal kick, and a period of Real pressure comes to an end.
20 min: It’s a bright end-to-end game all of a sudden. Florenzi and Salah nearly combine successfully down the Roma right to open Real up, but Pepe intercepts. Then Real flood upfield, Marcelo making ground on the left and finding Ronaldo in the middle. Ronaldo, on the penalty spot with his back to goal, spins and shoots in one smooth turn, but his effort clanks off his own man James and Roma are able to thwack clear.
18 min: More room for El Shaarawy in the middle of the Madrid half. He slips the ball wide left for Digne, who has time to think, but simply blooters a high ball into the box instead. Navas claims it with a yawn.
16 min: Roma so nearly pay for that miss immediately. Bale twists down the left, and his cross inside is deflected into the side netting. Szczesny had it covered, I think, but only just. The corner from the left is worked out to the right, and Modric floats a ball back inside. Szczesny plucks from the sky easily enough.
14 min: Roma should have scored. What a chance Dzeko wastes! Salah makes off down the right, into acres, having nipped past Ramos, who had sold himself needlessly. Salah slips the ball across the face of the area. El Shaarawy dummies, and Dzeko is free in the box, down the left channel, with the ball at his feet! And he shanks it wide left from ten yards. That was terrible. So close to making a real match of this.
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13 min: Roma started quickly, but they’re not seeing much of the ball right now. The Real midfield is beginning to impose itself. Roma aren’t doing a whole lot of pressing, only stepping in when Real threaten their final third.
11 min: Ronaldo embarks on a manic dribble down the inside-left and is brought down rather clumsily by the hanging leg of Florenzi. A free kick, level with the left edge of the box, 25 yards out. And that’s a rugby-style conversion. Actually, no it’s not, as well as being high, it’s wide right. The flags stay down!
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9 min: Real knock it about this way and that. All very Barcelona-esque. Kroos eventually gets a bit fed up with the tiki-taka, and threads powerfully towards the bottom left from 25 yards. Szczesny gathers easily.
8 min: Bale and Marcelo combine at speed down the left. Marcelo slides the ball down the wing for Bale, who reaches the dead-ball line and hooks back into the centre. Marcelo had kept on running, and sweeps a first-time effort well wide of the left-hand post. This has been a lively start.
6 min: Ronaldo takes a shot from 25 yards. It’s scuffed, but bounces up off Manolas’s boot and onto Zukanovic’s hand. Ronaldo claims a penalty, but he’s got a bit of a cheek really, seeing Zukanovic was standing right next to him and facing the other way at the time. The referee’s not having a bar of it.
5 min: Yes, they’re in the mood all right. Florenzi makes good down the right and whips a dangerous diagonal cross towards the far post. El Shaarawy isn’t far away from converting, but Pepe gets in the way and the ball flies out for a goal kick.
3 min: Real’s slightly groggy start continues. El Shaarawy swings a cross in from the left. Dzeko goes up on the penalty spot. Navas punches clear, but clocks Pepe upside the head while doing so. Pepe will be OK, but only after a dab down with the magic sponge. A half-chance for Roma there. They need something quick if they’re to become the first-ever side to overturn a first-leg 0-2 deficit in the knockout stage of the Champions League. They appear to be in the mood to give it a go.
And we're off!
Real Madrid get the ball rolling. And within ten seconds, Danilo clumsily handles the ball 30 yards from his own goal. A chance for Roma to load the Real box. Which they do. Problem is, Pjanic’s free kick doesn’t clear the first man. A strange start.
The teams are out! And the Blancos will take on the Giallorossi: everyone’s sporting their first-choice colours tonight. All white versus yellow and red, an aesthete’s dream. A fine atmosphere at the Bernabeu. We’ll be off in a minute! “I have a sad feeling that this is the last time we will see Totti in the Champions League, if he plays,” sighs Ruth Purdue. Well, he is 40 this coming September. Still, look on the bright side. If he does get a trot out this evening, and it does prove to be his final match on the European stage, there are worse places for a curtain call.
Our very own man in Spain, Sid Lowe, has been on BT Sport oozing gravitas and sounding knowledgeable while wearing a big coat. I’ve got a big coat; one out of three ain’t bad. Anyway, his analysis contained this little statistical gem: “The Champions League is Real Madrid’s only option this season, but it’s the option. It’s the tournament that defines this club, and if they were to win this, nothing else would matter. Bear in mind that of the last seven European Cups Real Madrid have won, all seven came in seasons when they didn’t win the league. So it’s not a bad way out!”
Here’s his weekly Spanish round-up, just in case you missed it.
Those teams in full
Real Madrid: Navas, Danilo, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo, Modric, Casemiro, Kroos, Bale, Rodriguez, Ronaldo.
Subs: Casilla, Varane, Carvajal, Kovacic, Lucas, Jese, Isco.
Roma: Szczesny, Florenzi, Manolas, Zukanovic, Digne, Pjanic, Keita, Perotti, Salah, El Shaarawy, Dzeko.
Subs: De Sanctis, Leandro Castan, Totti, Maicon, Falque, Vainqueur, Torosidis.
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland).
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Real Madrid trounced Celta Vigo 7-1 on Saturday. That hasn’t stopped Zinedine Zidane making five changes to his starting XI. Toni Kroos, James Rodriguez, Gareth Bale, Marcelo and Luka Modric come in; Mateo Kovacic, Lucas Vazquez, Isco and Dani Carvajal drop to the bench, while young Borja Mayoral misses out altogether.
Roma have won three games on the bounce since losing the first leg of this rubber. Their latest taste of victory was a 4-1 trouncing of Fiorentina, and Luciano Spalletti doesn’t mess too much with a successful recipe. Only the two changes: Ervin Zukanovic and Edin Dzeko replace Antonio Rudiger and Radja Nainggolan.
🎼 ♭ Die Meister ♫ Die Besten ♪ Les grandes équipes ♫ The champ-iiii-onnnns ♪ ♫
Here’s a stat to open the eyes: Real Madrid have lost their last eight two-legged European ties against clubs from Serie A. In the Champions League, they went down to Juventus in last year’s semi, the 2005 round of 16, the 2003 semi, and the 1996 quarter final, and to Roma in the 2008 round of 16. Torino sent them packing in the 1992 Uefa Cup semis. Milan meanwhile did for them in the second round of the old European Cup in 1989-90, and the semi-finals the season before that.
In fact, Real haven’t beaten an Italian side over two legs in Europe since 1987. That’s when they saw off Diego Maradona’s Napoli in an epic first-round encounter that illustrated the fundamental flaw in sheer brilliance of the old unseeded European Cup knock-out format.
That sorry run looks like coming to an end this evening. Zinedine Zidane’s men go into tonight’s Round of 16 second-leg match against Roma having won the first leg at the Stadio Olimpico 2-0. They’ve lost just one of the 30 European ties in which they’ve won the first leg away, against Odense in the 1994-95 Uefa Cup. They’ve won 21 of their 30 home matches against Italian opponents, drawing three of the others. And they won their last home fixture in this competition 8-0 (against Malmo).
As for Roma? They last won away in the Champions League at Basel in 2010. They’ve only won one of the five European ties in which they lost the first leg at home, against Nurnberg in the 1988-89 Uefa Cup. And they didn’t do much three weeks ago to suggest they’ve got the wherewithal to turn this around.
This should be a drama-free night for the hosts. You’ll thank me for tempting fate if it’s not. Kick off’s at 8.45pm local time in Madrid, 8.45pm back in Rome, 7.45pm GMT here in London. Enjoy, enjoy.
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