Barcelona got a bit of good fortune in their 4-1 first-leg win over Roma at home in their Champions League quarterfinal tie. Roma made a few mistakes, two of which led to own goals, and now the Italian team has a tough task ahead of them as they prepare for the second leg on April 10th in Rome.
What To Know About Barcelona
It wasn’t all fortune as Barcelona had 59% of the ball and had 19 shots on goals, putting nine on target. You could also argue that they would have scored on own goals from Daniele Re Rossi in the 38th minute and Kostas Manolas in the 55th minute as they had players positioned to get to the ball. Gerard Pique and Luis Suarez added goals in the 59th and 87th minutes for Barcelona, and it was the first game in eight overall that Lionel Messi failed to score, although he was always a threat for Roma. Sergio Busquets returned from injury and Barcelona looked much better than they have without him, and Andres Iniesta rolled back the years with a dominant performance in midfield. However, it feels like Barcelona has another gear to go to if they want to win the Champions League for the first time since 2015, and they also gave up more chances and an away goal when Busquets was replaced by Paulinho.
What To Know About Roma
Edin Dzeko grabbed what could be a big away goal in the 80th minute and to their credit, Roma never stopped pressuring Barcelona. The two own goals were almost comedic, but Roma responded both times. However, you wonder if the game would have been different if Radja Nainggolan wasn’t injured as Barcelona won the midfield battle, and even though Nainggolan can be frustrating, when he plays well, he is really disruptive. Kevin Strootman just isn’t the player he used to be and while De Rossi played well overall, an own goal is still a huge minus for the team. Dzeko was probably Roma’s best player and he might have had a penalty as well, while Alessandro Florenzi and Diego Perotti both missed great chances. Roma can take credit in their performance, but that doesn’t mean anything in terms of results.
Outlook
Barcelona are favored away from home at 1.61, while Roma comes in at 4.50, which is the same as a draw. This is Barcelona’s second trip to Rome, where they lost 3-0 in February 2002 and drew 1-1 in September 2015. Roma has to throw caution to the wind if they want to pull off this comeback, but Barcelona has the veteran players to make them pay for this. Messi is going to find space at some point and the more that Roma looks to attack, the more space there will be. If Nainggolan is healthy, that might make a bit of a difference to help Roma get a foothold in midfield. However, even if Roma score, it is unlikely that they’ll be able to keep Barcelona from doing the same.
Champions League Betting Pick: Barcelona
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