Champions League - Quarter-finals - 1st Leg
Barcelona4Roma1

Barcelona 4-1 Roma

Luis Suarez
Luis Suarez had not scored in 10 Champions League games - a run going back to March 2017

Luis Suarez scored his first Champions League goal in more than a year as Barcelona beat Roma convincingly in the quarter-final first leg.

Barca benefitted from two own goals to take control of the tie.

First Daniele de Rossi slid into his own net in a bid to keep the ball away from Lionel Messi, and then Kostas Manolas bundled another in, with Gerard Pique tapping in Barcelona's third.

Edin Dzeko gave Roma hope - but Suarez then slammed home from 14 yards.

Barca are strong favourites to clinch their first semi-final spot since 2014-15, when they won the tournament, next Wednesday at the Stadio Olimpico.

Barcelona treble dreams still on course

Ernesto Valverde's Barcelona - nine points clear at the top of La Liga and in the Copa del Rey final - did not even need to play well to brush Roma aside - and they could have won by more.

Suarez had a goal rightly ruled out for offside and Ivan Rakitic hit the post before Roma captain De Rossi slid Andres Iniesta's cross into his own net from about 16 yards out.

Roma did have chances and could have had a penalty when Samuel Umtiti fouled Lorenzo Pellegrini right on the edge of the box near the end of the first half, but referee Danny Makkelie awarded a free-kick to Roma instead of a spot-kick.

Twenty seconds after the restart, they went close when unmarked Diego Perotti's header from Alessandro Florenzi went wide.

They trailed by two when Umtiti hit the post and Roma defender Manolas put the rebound in before the Barca man could do it himself.

Pique tapped in after Suarez's shot was parried. But Dzeko got what looked an important away goal when he converted Perotti's low cross.

The tie was all but ended when Suarez smashed home from Denis Suarez's cross for his first Champions League goal in 11 games - a statistical anomaly for a striker who has scored 22 goals in 26 La Liga games this season.

Lionel Messi had seven shots, three on target, but failed to score for the first time in eight games.

Barca get a helping hand again

Daniele de Rossi
Daniele de Rossi was understandably trying to stop the ball from getting to Lionel Messi

For a team who score with ease themselves, Barcelona do not need any assistance to get on the scoresheet.

But they have now benefitted from more Champions League own goals than any other team in a single season.

Opposition players netted for Barcelona in three of the four group games that Barca managed to score in - Sebastian Coates and Jeremy Mathieu for Sporting Lisbon in different matches and Dimitris Nikolaou for Olympiakos.

De Rossi and Manolas' efforts against Barcelona, both of which were unlucky, mean that Lionel Messi is the only Barcelona player, with six, to net more times than own goals in the Champions League this season.

Match stats

  • Barcelona have won 20 of their past 21 Champions League games at the Nou Camp [drawing the other], including each of their five games this season.
  • Roma have conceded 11 goals in their three Champions League trips to Barcelona - more than against any other side on the road in the competition.
  • Roma are just the third different side to breach Barcelona's defence at the Nou Camp in the past 10 Champions League games after Paris St-Germain and Olympiakos.
  • Manolas' own goal was the 13th that Barcelona have benefited from in the Champions League; only Real Madrid (15) have benefited from more.
  • Roma are just the fourth side in Champions League history to score two own goals in a single game and the first since Galatasaray in September 2015 against Astana.
  • Iniesta made his 21st quarter-final appearance in the Champions League - a joint record with Ryan Giggs and Xavi.
  • Only Roberto Carlos (16) and Ivan Helguera (15) have scored more goals than Pique (12) amongst defenders in the Champions League.
  • Dzeko has had a hand in 58% of Roma's 12 goals in the Champions League this season [five goals, two assists].
  • After failing to score with his first 30 shots in the Champions League this season, Suarez finally scored with his 31st effort.

Man of the match - Gerard Pique (Barcelona)

Gerard Pique
Barcelona's usual magicians were not at their best, but goalscorer Gerard Pique was impressive, winning possession 11 times and completing more passes than anyone else bar Ivan Rakitic

What's next?

Barcelona can take another step towards winning La Liga when they host Leganes on Saturday. Third placed Roma are at home to Fiorentina on Saturday in Serie A.

Line-ups

Barcelona

  • 1ter Stegen
  • 2Cabral Semedo
  • 3Piqué
  • 23Umtiti
  • 18Alba
  • 20SergiSubstituted forAndré Gomesat 83'minutes
  • 5BusquetsSubstituted forPaulinhoat 67'minutes
  • 4Rakitic
  • 8IniestaSubstituted forD Suárezat 85'minutes
  • 10Messi
  • 9L Suárez

Substitutes

  • 6D Suárez
  • 11Dembélé
  • 13Cillessen
  • 15Paulinho
  • 17Alcácer
  • 21André Gomes
  • 25Vermaelen

Roma

  • 1Ramses Becker
  • 25da Silva Peres
  • 44Manolas
  • 20Fazio
  • 11KolarovBooked at 44mins
  • 24FlorenziSubstituted forEl Shaarawyat 72'minutes
  • 6StrootmanBooked at 86mins
  • 16De RossiSubstituted forDefrelat 77'minutes
  • 7PellegriniSubstituted forGonalonsat 60'minutes
  • 8Perotti
  • 9Dzeko

Substitutes

  • 5Nunes Jesus
  • 14Schick
  • 21Gonalons
  • 23Defrel
  • 28Skorupski
  • 30Santos da Silva
  • 92El Shaarawy
Referee:
Danny Makkelie
Attendance:
90,106

Match Stats

Home TeamBarcelonaAway TeamRoma
Possession
Home59%
Away41%
Shots
Home19
Away12
Shots on Target
Home9
Away3
Corners
Home10
Away7
Fouls
Home8
Away8

Live Text

Match ends, Barcelona 4, Roma 1.

Full Time

Second Half ends, Barcelona 4, Roma 1.

Corner, Barcelona. Conceded by Edin Dzeko.

Foul by Denis Suárez (Barcelona).

Bruno Peres (Roma) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Attempt missed. Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma) left footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high from a direct free kick.

Foul by Denis Suárez (Barcelona).

Gregoire Defrel (Roma) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

Goal!

Goal! Barcelona 4, Roma 1. Luis Suárez (Barcelona) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner.

Booking

Kevin Strootman (Roma) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

Lionel Messi (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Foul by Kevin Strootman (Roma).

Substitution

Substitution, Barcelona. Denis Suárez replaces Andrés Iniesta.

Foul by André Gomes (Barcelona).

Diego Perotti (Roma) wins a free kick on the left wing.

Substitution

Substitution, Barcelona. André Gomes replaces Sergi Roberto.

Attempt missed. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) left footed shot from the left side of the box is too high. Assisted by Jordi Alba.

Foul by Gerard Piqué (Barcelona).

Gregoire Defrel (Roma) wins a free kick on the left wing.

Goal!

Goal! Barcelona 3, Roma 1. Edin Dzeko (Roma) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Diego Perotti.

Corner, Roma. Conceded by Marc-André ter Stegen.

Attempt saved. Diego Perotti (Roma) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by Kevin Strootman.

Attempt saved. Gregoire Defrel (Roma) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Stephan El Shaarawy.

Substitution

Substitution, Roma. Gregoire Defrel replaces Daniele De Rossi.

Sergi Roberto (Barcelona) wins a free kick on the right wing.

Foul by Federico Fazio (Roma).

Corner, Roma. Conceded by Luis Suárez.

Corner, Roma. Conceded by Gerard Piqué.

Attempt blocked. Kevin Strootman (Roma) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Diego Perotti.

Substitution

Substitution, Roma. Stephan El Shaarawy replaces Alessandro Florenzi.

Attempt saved. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Sergi Roberto.

Attempt missed. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) left footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Ivan Rakitic following a corner.

Substitution

Substitution, Barcelona. Paulinho replaces Sergio Busquets.

Corner, Barcelona. Conceded by Bruno Peres.

Corner, Roma. Conceded by Luis Suárez.

Corner, Roma. Conceded by Nélson Semedo.

Attempt blocked. Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Alessandro Florenzi.

Corner, Roma. Conceded by Jordi Alba.

Substitution

Substitution, Roma. Maxime Gonalons replaces Lorenzo Pellegrini.

Goal!

Goal! Barcelona 3, Roma 0. Gerard Piqué (Barcelona) right footed shot from very close range to the centre of the goal.

goal

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