Barcelona were in irresistible form as they beat Roma 6-1 at the Camp Nou on Tuesday night in the Champions League.
Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi both netted twice, with goals from Gerard Pique and Adriano completing a humiliating loss for the Giallorossi who scored in the last minute thanks to Edin Dzeko.
The result means Barcelona are through as Group E winners, while Roma remain in second with a great chance of making it to the last 16.
Brilliant Barcelona
In the first half, Barcelona simply blew Roma away.
In the past week, the reigning European Champions have been at their very best, like they were under Pep Guardiola in 2009/2010. Barca carried on their incredible form from the weekend demolition of Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on Saturday and Roma were their next victims.
Two goals in the space of three minutes killed the game, before the match had even entered its second quarter. Both goals were superb but the second was a piece of art. 27 passes, six touches for Messi, four for Neymar and two for Suarez, resulted in the Argentinian marking his return to the starting line up with a goal. The former Ballon d’Or winner fitted seamlessly back into the team after two months out due to injury.
The main man, however, was Luis Suarez. He was at the centre of everything, from Barcelona’s high pressure to their intricate link up play. He rounded off his performance with a stunning volley to grab his second and Barca’s third on the night. Barcelona continued the party after the break, with two quick fire goals from Gerard Pique and Messi. The Spanish champions had romped to a 5-0 lead, all with their best player from El Classico, Andres Iniesta sat on the bench.
Roma’s sluggish start
A trend of Roma’s European game so far this season, they have started slowly. In the reverse fixture, they were behind early. At BATE, they were 3-0 down within 30 minutes and in Germany against Bayer Leverkusen they conceded two within 19 minutes.
In the best club competition in the world, a team cant afford to be slow off the mark. Even before Barcelona scored the opener, Roma looked vulnerable and exposed. The Giallorossi played a high line and were constantly undone by long diagonal balls. Rudi Garcia’s men were lucky to be level after 10 minutes but something had to give. What was equally annoying for Roma is that they had chances in the first half. Edin Dzeko missed the best of the lot when the score was still level. At the Camp Nou, those opportunities do not come very often and they have to be taken.
The Bosnian went onto miss a penalty late in the second half, before scoring with the last kick of the game. But Roma can have no complaints they were easily beaten. The only man who came out of the with any credit was the goalkeeper, who made several good saves to keep the scored below double figures. Even with the Polish international in fine form, Roma have conceded more goals than any other side in the Champions League this season. What will worry Garcia is what impact this could have on Roma’s season. Last year, Roma were beaten 7-1 by Bayern Munich in Europe. The result and more importantly the manner of it derailed the Giallorossi’s season. With Roma still in good shape in Serie A, Garcia will another mental scar following embarrassment in Europe.
Still in their hands
With a dominant win, Barcelona now qualify with ease for the Round of 16. Luis Enrique’s men have won Group E at a canter and can look forward to another tilt at Europe’s biggest prize.
Roma, however, still have work to do. The result in the earlier game, a 1-1 draw between Bate Borisov and Bayer Leverkusen, meant that the Barcelona game was a free hit. They missed. Yet it is still in the Giallorossi’s hands. A win in their final match against Bate will see them through regardless of Bayer’s result against Barcelona due to Roma’s superior head to head record with the German side. It is all up to Roma to bounce back and progress to the knockout stages. If they can not beat Bate at the Stadio Olimpico then they simply do not deserve to be among Europe’s elite after Christmas.
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