AS Roma defeated Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 at the Stadio Olimpico and move over their German opponents into second place in Group E. With just two matchdays remaining, the Italian side is now in the box seat to qualify for the knockout stages along with Barcelona, who currently sit five points clear of Roma at the top of the group.
It may not have reached the heights of the eight goal thriller we witnessed a fortnight ago, but nonetheless it was another enthralling battle. The fact that it was both sides biggest match of the season so far, added to the anticipation. Goals from Mohamed Salah, Edin Dzeko and Miralem Pjanic thwarted any Leverkusen prospects of gaining nothing less than a point. Goals from Admir Mehmedi and Javier Hernandez to tie the scores at 2-2, did not prove vital come full-time.
It was a must-win clash for the hosts, as a loss would have seen them lingering fourth in the group and five points behind Leverkusen, their tournament surely would have been cut short. Fortunately for the Roma faithful, the Giallorossi were successful in securing a win to ensure they fight another day. Rudi Garcia and his men now sit in second spot with five points, one point ahead of the visitors.
Incompetent defensive performances
In patches of the enticing fixture, both teams were shambolic in defence. In the first half, it was Leverkusen who failed in impose themselves defensively, Rudi Garcia’s men ripped the German side apart in defence with brilliant passes. It just seemed to easy for the hosts, at one stage they could have lead by three goals if Dzeko had seized a brilliant chance that a player of his calibre should have polished off with ease.
Jonathan Tah and Kyriakos Papadopoulos appeared lost throughout the match. Papadopoulos, in particular, made a huge misjudgement when he failed to step up and hold the defensive Leverkusen line – allowing Radja Nainggolan to provide the key pass for the Edin Dzeko goal. At times, the Leverkusen defence pushed up too high and the midfield dropped deeper, this allowed Roma valuable space. Roma were weak in defence for a 15 minute period of the match, which saw them cough up their two-goal advantage, the hosts simply switched off. Excluding the poor 15-minute defensive display, overall, Roma were more than competent at the back.
The penalty incident
In the 78th minute, with the scores levelled at 2-2, Dzeko saw his strike saved by Bernd Leno, however, the German shot-stopper failed to deal with it and just as Salah was about to tap it home, Omer Toprak blatantly pushed the Egyptian, thus resulting in a Roma penalty.
Bosnian maestro Pjanic stepped up to the spot and made no mistake despite Leno diving the right way; the goal proved to be the vital match winner.
The Toprak foul was potentially dangerous as he nearly pushed Salah into the goal post that could have been disastrous; it is his job to prevent goal scoring opportunities but the Turkish defender arguably crossed the line on this occasion.
Roma and their faithful supporters may have believed this penalty was justice served as just 15 minutes before this incident the referee dismissed a debatable penalty claim in which it could have been perceived that two Roma players were being held back.
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Salah outstanding
The winger continued his impressive form of the 2015-16 season by producing a magnificent man of the match display. Salah was a vast part of his side’s attacks; the Egyptian was constantly manoeuvring himself into excellent positions.
Salah scored the opener in the second minute via a counter attack; the finish may not have been perfect but it doesn’t matter how they go in. The wing wizard’s excellent movement was what put him into the glorious position to score. Salah produced the key pass to Dzeko that resulted in the Bosnian blasting it over the bar.
Leverkusen defender, Wendell would have been relieved to hear the half-time whistle after the grief Salah inflicted upon him. It was an absolute nightmare for Wendell, arguably his worst performance all season.
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