Roma knocks out Barcelona with remarkable comeback
ROME » Roma pulled off an extraordinary comeback to knock Barcelona out of the Champions League on Tuesday, winning 3-0 at home to reach the semifinals by overturning a three-goal deficit from the first leg.
Roma advanced on away goals despite losing 4-1 in the first leg of the quarterfinals.
Center back Kostas Manolas scored the decisive goal with a header from a corner in the 82nd minute amid a deafening atmosphere inside the Stadio Olimpico.
Roma coach Eusebio Di Francesco acknowledged before the match that his team needed a “miracle” to advance, and they got the start they needed when when Edin Dzeko controlled an overthe-top pass between two defenders after six minutes and poked in his sixth goal in this season’s competition.
Then near the hour mark, Dzeko earned a penalty that Daniele De Rossi converted to set the stage for Manolas’ late header.
Barcelona forwards Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez hardly threatened as Roma dominated possession for long stretches and stifled the Catalan club with high pressure.
Roma capitalized on its aerial threat through Dzeko and Patrik Schick and its stifling defense forced Barcelona into a series of uncharacteristic misplaced passes.
It’s the first time that Roma has reached the last four since it lost the 1984 final to Liverpool on penalties in its own stadium — and it’s the third straight year that Barcelona has been eliminated at this stage.
Only two clubs had previously overturned at least a three-goal first-leg deficit in the Champions League — Deportivo La Coruna beat AC Milan 4-0 after losing the opening leg 4-1 in the 2004 quarterfinals and Barcelona routed Paris Saint-Germain 6-1 after losing the first game 4-0 in last season’s Round of 16. LIVERPOOL 2, MANCHESTER CITY 1 » Liverpool reached the Champions League semifinals after recovering from conceding a goal inside two minutes against Manchester City to win thanks to second-half strikes by Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino.
Gabriel Jesus’ early goal raised belief inside Etihad Stadium that one of the most unlikely Champions League comebacks was on, with Liverpool having won the first leg 3-0 at Anfield last week.
City’s attacking lineup was always susceptible to the counter-attack, however. And off one of them, Salah collected a loose ball, rounded goalkeeper Ederson Moraes and deftly chipped in the equalizer in the 56th for his 39th goal of the season.
With City now needing four goals in barely half an hour to advance, Liverpool knew a spot in the last four for the first time in 10 years was there for the taking. Firmino made sure of it by curling in the team’s second goal in the 77th.
Liverpool, which won 5-1 on aggregate, is bidding for its sixth title in Europe’s top competition — and its first since 2005.
After goals by Edin Dzeko and Daniele De Rossi, center back Kostas Manolas scored the decisive goal with a header from a corner in the 82nd minute at the Stadio Olimpico.
Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are in good positions to complete the last-four lineup when the quarterfinals are wrapped up on Wednesday. Madrid leads Juve 3-0 and Bayern leads Sevilla 2-1.
It was the latest Champions League failure by City manager Pep Guardiola, who won the competition twice with Barcelona — in 2009 and ’11 — but hasn’t reached the final since in five season with Bayern Munich and City.
Guardiola was sent to the stands for the second half for arguing with referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz during halftime.