Rome: Liverpool advanced to its first Champions League final in more than a decade despite a 2-4 loss at Roma Wednesday. The Reds, Liverpool popularly known as, scored two early goals and that was all they needed to advance 7-6 on aggregate after a 5-2 win in the first leg of the last four. In the May 26 final in Kiev, Liverpool will face two-time defending champion Real Madrid.
It was Sadio Mane who put Liverpool ahead when he took advantage of a misplaced Roma pass nine minutes in and Georginio Wijnaldum restored the advantage with a header after James Milner’s own goal.
Edin Dzeko restored parity for the hosts early in the second half and Radja Nainggolan scored two late goals for the hosts as the Giallorossi narrowly missed out on another miracle after their stunning 3-0 second-leg victory over Barcelona in the quarterfinals. Roma were left feeling aggrieved about two penalty decisions that weren’t given.
Liverpool only reached the Champions League group stage through the final play-off round, beating Hoffenheim way back in August.
There were concerns of fan violence surrounding the match after two men from Rome were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following an assault outside the stadium before the first leg in Liverpool.
Supporters of both clubs met at Rome’s City Hall earlier Wednesday to condemn violence and express solidarity with Sean Cox, the Liverpool supporter who was severely injured in the clashes last week.
Inside the stadium, fans of both sides lit flares in the stands before kick-off. It was so loud at one point that the Champions League anthem couldn’t be heard.
With Liverpool advancing and Roma winning the match, both sets of fans applauded their clubs at the final whistle. Afterward, Liverpool players posed near their fans behind a banner that read, “Sean Cox: You’ll never walk alone.”
Like the first leg, Liverpool was more impressive early on before Roma asserted itself late. Roma’s defence looked out of sorts when Nainggolan misplaced a pass early on and Roberto Firmino set up Mane for an unchallenged goal – the first that Roma has conceded at home in this season’s Champions League.
Roma levelled the scores six minutes later when Dejan Lovren’s attempt to clear an effort from Stephan El Shaarawy ricocheted off teammate Milner’s face back into his own goal.
Ten minutes later, Dzeko’s attempt to head away a Liverpool corner went backwards instead toward Wijnaldum, who nodded it in.
In the second half, El Shaarawy’s curling effort was batted away by Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius and Dzeko had enough time to control the rebound before shooting firmly into the far corner.
Roma could have had a penalty shortly after the hour mark, but Liverpool got away with an evident handball by Trent Alexander-Arnold as he blocked a close-range effort from El Shaarawy.
Nainggolan then put his team ahead on the night with a long-range shot off the post in the 86th minute. In added-on time, Nainggolan converted a penalty following a handball by Ragnar Klavan.
The 13 goals scored between the two legs of the Liverpool-Roma match
was a record for a Champions League semifinal