CL: Two own-goals help Barcelona take charge of quarter-final against Roma

Barcelona players celebrate Romas second owngoal during the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal first leg football match between FC Barcelona and AS Roma at the Camp Nou Stadium in Barcelona PicAFPBarcelona can start planning for the Champions League semifinals but their 41 win over Roma on Wednesday will not necessarily have rivals quivering in their boots Two owngoals from Daniele De Rossi and Kostas Manolas and a closerange finish from Gerard Pique presented the Catalans with a flattering 30 advantage at the Camp Nou before Edin Dzeko snatched Roma a late away goalBut just as the Italians looked to have grabbed a lifeline Luis Suarez restored the threegoal cushion by scoring a fourth in the 87th minute It means Barca will head to Italy next week with a place in the last four firmly in their grasp but this was not a virtuouso attacking display Instead they benefited from two fortuitous own goals and some careless Roma finishing Ernesto Valverdes side are unlikely to meet as generous an opponent in the semisIt would have been better had we not conceded a goal but we cant complain We have a good lead and now we need to rest up and prepare for the match against Leganes on Saturday in La Liga and then the second leg Pique told beIN Sports Spain Roma are a good team and they stood up to us well They play good football maybe more defensively than we thought but they tried to hit us on the break After Cristiano Ronaldos spectacular bicycle kick for Real Madrid on Tuesday even Lionel Messi back from injury here endured a slightly frustrating night his shots and dribbles for once meeting opponents rather than the netMessi returned to the starting lineup after recovering from his hamstring complaint as did Sergio Busquets back after breaking his toe against Chelsea three weeks ago Romas own midfield enforcer Radja Nainggolan was missing with a hamstring strain Barca struggled for fluency in the first half with Romas nineman defensive action largely successful in channelling their opponents attacks down the centre where the visitors were able to tackle block and contain the space The only real early threat from Barca came through Ivan Rakitics crossshot which curved without a touch all the way through to the far post which it struck and bounced outRoma denied penaltyBy then Roma were unfortunate not to have had a penalty as Dzeko nipped in front of Nelson Semedo who pushed the attacker in the back Referee Danny Makkelie however was unmoved The referee had to have the courage to award that penalty against Barcelona If they gave us that penalty the game would have changed We too are in the quarterfinals and deserve respect a fuming Dzeko told Italian television Instead it was Barca who enjoyed the rub of the green when De Rossi attempted to cut out Andres Iniestas pass to Messi Facing goal his leaping slide connected too well with the ball which he stabbed past Alisson Becker and into his own netStodgy in the first half Barca were sloppy at the start of the second as Semedo allowed Diego Perotti a free header at the back post and then Samuel Umtiti could have been punished for a moment of indecision in his own sixyard box But Roma were blunt in attack and they paid the price In the 55th minute a skimming cross from Rakitic was met by Umtiti five yards out and while his finish came back off the post the ball deflected off Manolas and in Four minutes later it was 30 Messis bending pass allowed Suarez a shot at goal and Alissons parry fell at the feet of Pique who sidefooted home Roma looked to have found a way back into the contest when Dzeko nipped in to convert Perottis cross but Suarez secured the victory and perhaps the tie His namesake Denis Suarez supplied the cross and as the ball spilled loose the Uruguayan needed no second invitation to find the netCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever