AS Roma were made to pay by a ruthless Real Madrid side who emerged 2-0 winners on the night in the second leg of their round of 16 Champions League knockout tie.
The visitors knew they needed to score at least two goals at the Bernabeu to stand any chance of making it to the last eight after losing the first leg 2-0 in Rome.
They missed several chances in the first half, while in the second Cristiano Ronaldo and James Rodriguez guided Real to yet another quarter-final place.
Roma rue missed chances
You have to take your chances. That is how the saying goes and it applied to Roma on a disappointing night for Luciano Spalletti’s side in the Spanish capital. Going into the game the last thing you could accuse Roma of was missing chances, with the Giallorossi coming off seven straight wins in Serie A in which they had scored 22 goals, at an average of over three goals per game. In their last outing they had demolished the normally impressive Fiorentina 4-1. However, when it mattered most, their forwards cracked under pressure in Spain. Spalletti must have been delighted with the build up play from his side and the numerous chances they created, but each time Roma got in front of goal they managed to fluff their lines. Keylor Navas made the odd save but it was the Giallorossi who mainly denied themselves. The likes of Edin Dzeko, Alessandro Florenzi and even defender Kostas Manolas had big chances but failed to convert.
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Clinical Real do enough
It has to be said that Real were not at their best. The stadium became nervy the longer the game stayed at 0-0 and would have been on edge if Roma scored first. Yet just when the away side were building up a head of steam, the main man Ronaldo stepped up to ease the tension. Within two minutes the tie was over as Ronaldo turned provider for James Rodriguez to double the home side’s lead on the night. In the blink of an eye, Real had secured their passage to the last eight and in doing so they had taught Roma a lesson in how to finish. They could have had more, with Ronaldo missing chances they created in the last 20 minutes as the game became stretched. It did not matter in the end, as Zinedine Zidane secured a comfortable 4-0 aggregate victory.
Real are genuine challengers
The name Real Madrid makes you think they are one of the favourites to win the Champions League, a competition in which they have such great history. However, on the pitch they still have a long way to go to be real contenders. Against a Roma side, who only managed six points in the group stages and scrapped through to the last 16, they looked exposed. They were in many ways lucky to go in at half-time 0-0. The attacking full backs, such as Marcelo left acres of space for Roma attackers to exploit. Against more clinical sides, Real would have been punished. You would expect the likes of Bayern Munich, PSG and especially Barcelona not to be so forgiving. This is also a Real side who are 11 points behind first spot in La Liga and failed to impress for large spells this season. Despite being in charge of the first team for nearly two months, there are still the same question over Zidane’s side. However, when you have Ronaldo in your ranks, who scored his 90th goal in the competition against Roma, they will always have a chance of lifting the trophy.
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