ROMA EXPOSE LACKLUSTRE BLUES

As Roma outclassed Chelsea 3-0 to grab the top-spot in Group C, HT looks at what went wrong for the English champions:

EL SHAARAWY ON TARGET

Stephan El Shaarawy was by far the most lethal man on the pitch on Tuesday night. While others around him may have fluffed their lines on a number of occasions the Italian winger was clinical in front of the goal, netting twice in the first half; the first this season’s fastest goal.

ROMA TAKE ADVANTAGE

Roma were able to dismantle Chelsea, who were without N’Golo Kante, with Edin Dzeko’s strength and clever positioning that was well-supplemented by the pace of

Diego Perotti and Stephan

El Shaarawy on the counter.

LACKADAISICAL CHELSEA

Although the scoreline may read 3-0 in Roma’s favour, on another night Chelsea could have ended up conceding a lot more goals. On several occasions, Chelsea defenders Antonio Rudiger and Cesar Azpilicueta simply failed to track the opposition’s movement off the ball.

POOR CONVERSION

In the first half, Eden Hazard saw three attempts parried away by Roma’s Alisson. Tiemoue Bakayoko and Alvaro Morata were also guilty of being wasteful. In fact, both teams ended with almost equal possession and six shots on target.

"If we think because our name is Chelsea the opponent is fearful, this is not the right way. We must have a great desire in every game. What I am most disappointed about is the performance in the second half. I believe in the first half we played well."

Chelsea coach Antonio Conte