Champions League: Valverde Reacts To Barcelona 4-1 Win Over Roma

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Champions League: Valverde Reacts To Barcelona 4-1 Win Over Roma

Barcelona manager, Ernesto Valverde has said he doesn’t know if Roma deserved to be awarded two penalties because he hadn’t seen the replays.

However, Valverde feels there were calls which went against his team, too.

The Barca boss was speaking after their 4-1 win over Roma in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie.

The referee ruled Nelson Semedo’s challenge on Dzeko in the ninth minute was legal and determined that Samuel Umtiti’s first-half foul on Lorenzo Pellegrini was outside the box.

“I saw penalties [for Barcelona] that we weren’t awarded tonight as well,” he said.

“Everyone sees things their own way,” he added.

Valverde was happy with the result, even though he would have preferred not to concede an away goal.

“It’s a struggle to win every game,” he added.

“So it’s a good result, although I would have preferred to win 3-0 than 4-1. That said, Marc-Andre [Ter Stegen] had some tough saves to make and Roma had some clear scoring opportunities. They’re a good side, it was difficult for us to break them down and get past the first line of pressure.

“But we haven’t done anything yet. I don’t see us in the semifinal, not at all,” he said.

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Champions League: We Would Beat Barcelona If Not For The Referee - Francesco

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Champions League: We Would Beat Barcelona If Not For The Referee -  Francesco

Roma manager, Eusebio Di Francesco, has claimed Barcelona received help from the referee on Wednesday, as the LaLiga leaders beat them 4-1 in the Champions League quarter-finals.

However, Di Francesco also conceded that his own team made too many mistakes, with own goals either side of half-time giving Barca a two-goal lead at Camp Nou.

Gerard Pique added the third before Edin Dzeko pulled one back for the visitors with 10 minutes remaining.

However, Luis Suarez restored the home side’s three-goal lead in the 87th minute to give them a commanding lead going into next week’s second leg.

Di Francesco insists things would have been different, if match official Danny Makkelie had awarded his side two penalties.

“It’s going to be very difficult to qualify from here but it would be less difficult if the referee hadn’t helped them, especially with the big decisions,” Di Francesco said in his postgame news conference.

“But we made mistakes and we made it easy for them, which you can’t do against Barca. Daniele [De Rossi] has made a mistake, which can happen, then [Kostas] Manolas was unfortunate with the second own goal.

“Evidently that’s our fault, but Barca are good enough without help from the officials. Semedo on Dzeko is a clear penalty and then later there’s another on Pellegrini,” he added.

Asked if he felt the scoreline was unfair, Di Francesco added: “Yes, absolutely, given how we played. We had a lot of chances. I think it’s a result that doesn’t demonstrate what we did on the pitch.

“We have to keep dreaming, though. Why not? It’s a result that favours Barca but I want my team to put on a show in front of our fans next week.”

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EPL: Roma Reveals Why They Sold Salah To Liverpool

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EPL: Roma Reveals Why They Sold Salah To Liverpool

 

Roma’s transfer chief, Ramon “Monchi Rodriguez, has revealed that the club was helpless about selling Mohammed Salah to Liverpool last summer.

Monchi, speaking at Rome’s Foreign Press Association on Wednesday, claimed they had to sell the Egyptian before June 30 last year to balance their books.

Salah joined the Reds in a €42million deal and his value has skyrocketed ever since.

With 28 goals in 30 English Premier League matches this season, nobody in Europe’s top five leagues has scored more than Salah.

Overall he has 36 goals in 40 matches in all competitions since joining Liverpool.

“On Salah there are two important things to understand.

“First, Salah was sold before the Neymar effect revolutionized the market. Second, we had a necessity to sell Salah before June 30.

“Anyone who understands a bit of this business knows that that’s like having a sword pointed at your neck.

“So taking into account these two conditions, I think we made a sale that was fairly big,” Monchi said.

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Champions League: Manchester United Crashes Out As Sevilla, Roma Qualify For Quarter-Final

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Champions League: Manchester United Crashes Out As Sevilla, Roma Qualify For Quarter-Final

Manchester United have been eliminated from this season’s Champions League, after they were beaten 2-1 by Sevilla on Tuesday night.

Jose Mourinho’s men held the advantage going into the second leg at Old Trafford, after a goalless draw in Spain.

However, the hosts were unable to trouble Sevilla in the first half, with no goals scored.

Wissam Ben Yedder was then introduced into the game and he grabbed two goals in four minutes, to set the LaLiga side on their way to the quarter-finals.

Although Romelu Lukaku pulled one back, it was too little and too late, as Mourinho’s men exited the competition.

Roma are also through after beating Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 at home. They lost the first leg 2-1.

Sevilla and Roma join Manchester City, Liverpool, Juventus and Real Madrid in the quarter-finals.

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