4 Things We Learned As Barcelona Beat Roma 4-1 In The Champions League Quarter Final First Leg

Barcelona 4-1 Roma

Barcelona were far from at their best but did enough to take full control of their Champions League quarter final against Roma with a 4-1 win at the Camp Nou on Wednesday evening.

The Giallorossi started well but will curse their luck as two own goals from Daniele Di Rossi and Kostas Manolas surrendered the match before Gerard Pique and Luis Suarez piled on the misery. Edin Dzeko’s away goal appears to be little more than a consolation.
Here are four talking points from a lacklustre but comprehensive Barcelona victory.

Unlucky Roma surrendered control with De Rossi own goal.

Something just felt off even before the game at the Camp Nou; the atmosphere was far from booming, certainly not at the level expected of a Champions League quarter-final nor of a stadium that holds 98,000 people.

This is Barcelona’s 11th successive appearance in the last eight, so perhaps they have become accustomed, but it was to their own detriment from the start. Roma started with a clear gameplan, and Eusebio Di Francesco deserves great credit, just as he did against Shakhtar Donetsk in the last round. The Blaugrana were stifled, kept at arms length with minimal opportunity to break through; Messi was as quiet as he can be and Suarez was poor. Roma even breaking the lines in wide positions, despite the absence of ball carrier Radja Nainggolan through injury.

Neither side really deserved to lead at the break, but Barcelona did, thanks to Roma captain De Rossi’s own goal. Messi was not at his brazen best, but he was still pulling strings, with typically close control and linkup with Suarez and Andres Iniesta; a one-two between himself and the latter was intercepted by Di Rossi, but his touch took the ball past Alisson in goal. Had it been at the other end, the Italian would have been pleased with his precision, but he gave Barça a break; Ernesto Valverde’s side needed to up their game after a lacklustre showing on the pitch and in the stands.

Manolas own goal compounded Roman misery

The second half didn’t bring an immediate burst of confidence from the hosts and, instead, Roma should have restored parity just 20 seconds after the restart. Argentine midfielder Diego Perotti misjudged a backpost header after a brilliant cross from the right-hand side. The visitors continued to exploit the spaces in behind from the get-go and, while it was still 1-0, the nervy edge that lingered in the quiet atmosphere refused to disperse. Other than whistles that greeted a Roma freekick on the edge of the box in the first half, the only noise that was coming from the imposing stands were groans in demand that the Catalans up their game.

Messi was busy all night, but mainly in the background. While Cristiano Ronaldo took centre stage for Real Madrid in Turin against Juventus on Tuesday, Messi stayed in the shadows, but there was a sense that he meant it to be that way. He was there when Barça needed a little explosion in attack, even if Alisson was more or less equal to what he threw at him. The tie soon edged away from Roma when Kostas Manolas bundled over his own line ahead of Samuel Umtiti; but the work in the build up between Messi and Ivan Rakitic, who hit the post in the first half, cannot go unnoticed. By this point, Di Francesco will have been cursing his luck; moments later, Pique added a third and that knocked the stuffing out of the Italians.

Ernesto Valverde should have started Ousmane Dembele

The game may have been easy from the moment the second goal went in, but the atmosphere never improved. Barcelona felt shackled all night, though Valverde may prefer to call it controlled; his team selection and the way they lined up on the pitch were confusing and it was unclear why Valverde wanted his side to play in such a manner. Sergi Roberto, who really is the Barça coach’s go-to man in any system, slotted in out wide in a 4-4-2 formation, and the resulting performance was as flat and stagnant as that system suggested.

Ousmane Dembele may have scored in the last 16 against Chelsea, in another tie that was lacking the verve so often associated with Barcelona, but Valverde left him on the bench. His energy, his unpredictability and his fearless nature were lacking and so therefore was any sense of excitement from the hosts’ play. This tie may well be under their control, but Dzeko’s deserved away goal offers a tiny glimour od hope for Roma. Against Chelsea, at least Barcelona began with real intent, with Dembele at the heart, but it was a very different story in his absence.

Luis Suarez finally scores in the Champions League again

It is hard to believe, but Suarez had not scored in the Champions League this season before tonight, but finally broke his duck to put the tie beyond reasonable doubt. It didn’t look like being his night; Alisson matched him at every turn and he spurned a number of chances. But strikers are judged by goals, and all has been forgotten, both tonight and over the past year, now Suarez is back on form in Europe.

Roma deserve credit for their performance in the first half, but even without Suarez’s late goal, it was hard to see Barcelona being as poor in the second leg at the Stadio Olimpico next week. They should be able to plan for a semi final already.