ASR-PSV: That's the plan!! 
pokarioboy: Thanks, but I lost to Barcelona
pokarioboy: Thanks, but I lost to Barcelona
Francesco Totti - Il Gladiatore di Roma
A legend of the game taking Rome to a new empire. Like Julius Caesar except not as good.
Not so good, you're slipping a bit but I'm sure with the help of their manager they can be encouraged to step it up a notch
Barcelona Knock Roma Out of the Champions League
Following the 2-0 loss at the Camp Nou in the first leg of the First Knockout Round, fans of AS Roma knew that their club would need a truly monumental turnaround at the Stadio Olimpico in order to progress to the Quarterfinal stage.
To make things even harder for the Giallorossi, both first team left backs, Federico Balzaretti and Dodo, were injured for the match, meaning that fourth string central defender Lenadro Castan had to shift out to left back. Along with this, experienced defender Paolo Cannavaro was suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards, meaning that teenage sensation Tin Jedvaj would have the job of trying to control Lionel Messi.
The first half passed with little incident, but deep into stoppage time, Barcelona struck a killer blow. Neymar had intricately danced his way around Sebastian Corchia, and the French fullback, in an attempt to recover, managed to take down Neymar. The referee did not hesitate to point to the spot despite it looking like a dive, and Lionel Messi made no mistake with the finish.
Lionel Messi's penalty kick late in the first half was the difference as FC Barcelona completed their 3-0 aggregated trouncing of AS Roma.
After halftime, down 3-0 on aggregate, Roma tried to through everything forward. They were thrown a lifeline in the 52nd minute when Sergio Busquets cynically brought down Miralem Pjanic on a counterattack, earning a second yellow card. Playing against 10 men, the Giallorossi knew they had the slightest of chances.
Barcelona's defense held strong, however, with Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano expertly marshaling the defense and keeping the Italian side's chances to an absolute minimum. The closest that Totti's men came was in the 82nd minute when Clement Grenier's header was acrobatically tipped onto the bar by Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
The final whistle came with a 1-0 final score, and La Blaugrana advanced to the quarterfinals without too much of a struggle from their opponents. This has been one of the worst stretches of results for the Giallorossi, who have now won only five of their last twelve games (only two of their last seven).
"There's no excuse for this; we can't blame the referee, nothing like that," said a dejected Totti after the match. "We didn't play well. We aren't good enough to win the Champions League, yet, and I stress yet. We have a lot of work to do, but we moving in the right direction to be contenders in the future."
Roma will now have to pick their heads up and be prepared for their upcoming fixture; the Derby della Capitale against hated rivals SS Lazio in four days' time.
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Walter: Yes, now that we're out of the Champions League we must win Serie A.
fzemdegs: We just have to keep believing!
fzemdegs: We just have to keep believing!
Well... I have a feeling that Barcelona are good at this football thing, so don't worry!
Unlucky with the CL 
I need to improve my reading after thinking you had beat Barca. Messi and Neymar aren't exactly the easiest to contain, but you should do well in the Serie A Goodluck!
I need to improve my reading after thinking you had beat Barca. Messi and Neymar aren't exactly the easiest to contain, but you should do well in the Serie A Goodluck!
Unlucky about the loss dude, Barceloa was always going to be tough so their is no shame in losing. Hopefully next year you will come back stronger and go all the way! In the meantime don't let this affect your form in the league, make sure you hold into win that title 
Barcelona are just a class above, they were always gonna be tough. Unlucky to lose to them, hopefully this will inspire you to take revenge on them in future encounters
Griffo: Yeah they're not half bad are they 
pokarioboy: Haha it's okay, we all read things wrong sometimes
pompeyblue: It's certainly a tough loss to take but if we can continue our good record domestically I don't see why we can't be a threat next year
Justice: Yeah right now they're better than we are but I can't wait until we knock them out next year perhaps
ASR-PSV: Yes at the very least I'll try to win Serie A for the fans
pokarioboy: Haha it's okay, we all read things wrong sometimes
pompeyblue: It's certainly a tough loss to take but if we can continue our good record domestically I don't see why we can't be a threat next year
Justice: Yeah right now they're better than we are but I can't wait until we knock them out next year perhaps
ASR-PSV: Yes at the very least I'll try to win Serie A for the fans
A CLASSIC DERBY DELLA CAPITALE
Coming off of their difficult 1-0 home loss to FC Barcelona to complete a comprehensive 3-0 aggregate loss in the UEFA Champions League first knockout round, AS Roma knew they'd have to bounce back fast...what better way to try and do so than against the hated SS Lazio in the infamous Derby della Capitale?
The Giallorossi sat only 2 points clear of AC Milan before they 'hosted' their rivals in the Stadio Olimpico, so they knew that winning was the only real option to ensure that their slender lead stayed intact. However, with fullback Dodo injured and star striker Alvaro Morata struggling for fitness, Francesco Totti would have to make a few changes and hope the side could still win.
Roma Starting XI (4-1-2-1-2)
Asmir Begovic; Maicon, Mehdi Benatia, Tin Jedvaj, Federico Balzaretti; Daniele De Rossi (C); Marco Verratti, Clement Grenier; Miralem Pjanic; Adem Ljajic, Mattia Destro
Lazio Starting XI (4-1-4-1)
Federico Marchetti; Luis Cavanda, Michael Ciani, Diego Novaretti Stefan Radu; Lucas Biglia; Abdoulay Konko, Lorik Cana, Cristian Ledesma, Hernanes de Carvalho; Lucas Pratto
The match was set to be a classic; over the last few years, these matches have seemingly grown even more heated and passionate, and the packed stadium was expecting no difference this time around. The fans were most certainly not disappointed as the two Rome-based clubs served up one of the very best games of the season.
Things started very early for AS Roma. Just 9 minutes into the game, Federico Balzaretti had found himself in a good amount of space on the left side of the box. The veteran Italian fullback lofted in an angled cross, and Mattia Destro rose to head it in...and missed the ball entirely. Federico Marchetti, wrong-footed by Destro's whiff, could only stand and watch as the cross nestled itself into the corner of the net.
Ten minutes later, the Giallorossi's best player so far this season doubled his team's advantage. Clement Grenier had pinged the ball into Adem Ljajic who had dropped deep from his striker position, and the Serbian flicked the ball between his legs to the forward-bursting Miralem Pjanic. The Bosnian playmaker made no mistake with his first time finish, slotting past Marchetti with ease.
Miralem Pjanic scored the first of his goals against Lazio with a cool finish, rolling the ball past the onrushing goalkeeper to double AS Roma's derby advantage.
Lazio were not at all ready to just lie down and give up, however. The Biancocelesti drove forward again halfway through the first half as Lucas Pratto pulled a goal back for Vladimir Petkovic's side by heading home Lucas Biglia's corner kick.
Roma continued to struggle with defending set pieces throughout the half. With just 3 minutes left before the break, Lazio were awarded a free kick just outside the box. Lucas Biglia ran up as if to shoot but instead laid the ball across the top of the box for Lorik Cana to smash home first time from the top of the semicircle and score a dramatic equalizer.
In the second half, Lazio tried to push forward for the third goal and very nearly got it. Hernanes and substitute Alvaro Gonzalez both were brilliantly denied by Begovic from close range, the Bosnia & Herzegovina goalkeeper saving Francesco Totti's men from completely blowing their two goal lead.
Asmir Begovic made a number of key saves against Lazio's attacking stars to keep his side in the match in a second half dominated by the opposition.
In the 88th minute, however, Miralem Pjanic crushed Lazio hearts and inspired the Giallorossi faithful in the stands. The advanced midfielder had split the central defender and left back and had been played in by Maicon and dispatched the finish with contemptuous ease, toe-poking the ball into the near post to seal a late 3-2 win and send the Olimpico into raptures.
"We thoroughly deserved this win," said Totti after the match. "Credit to Lazio; they seemed down and out, but they fought back. We knew we could win this game, though, and we came forth once more when it counted and got the three points."
After that win, combined with a couple of very poor results from AC Milan, AS Roma now sit 4 points clear of the Rossoneri with a game in hand.
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