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The UEFA Champions League Final
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After all the build-up and anticipation, match day is finally upon us; a new King of Europe is about to be crowned at the end of this Champions League final, to be fiercely contested between two of the continent's domestic champions; AS Roma of Italy, and Borussia Dortmund of Germany.
With a number of injuries and suspensions affecting both teams, the starting lineups had a few surprises within them. Brazilian left back Dodo started over Ricardo Rodriguez at left back for AS Roma, while Jurgen Klopp opted play Kevin Grosskreutz to fill the hole left by Jakub Blaszczykowski. The full lineups were as follows:
AS Roma Starting XI (4-1-2-1-2)
Asmir
Begovic; Sebastien
Corchia, Tin
Jedvaj, Samuel
Umtiti,
Dodo; Daniele
De Rossi (C); Marco
Verratti, Nuri
Sahin; Clement
Grenier; Alvaro
Morata, Adem
Ljajic
Borussia Dortmund Starting XI (4-2-3-1)
Maxym
Koval; Lukasz
Piszczek, Stefan
Savic, Mats
Hummels (C), Eder Alvarez
Balanta; Sebastian
Rode, Sven
Bender; Marco
Reus, Henrikh
Mkhitaryan, Kevin
Grosskreutz; Pierre-Emerick
Aubameyang
It was a cagey affair between the two teams from the very first whistle, neither team willing to risk too many men going forward for fear of being caught out on the counterattack. Giallorosssi captain Daniele De Rossi set the tone early on in the match, giving both Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Marco Reus quick bruises to remember him by for the rest of the game.
As time wore on, however, it was clear that Roma's midfield diamond had started to dominate proceedings and keep possession a bit more. Nuri Sahin started to dictate the tempo against his old team halfway through the first half, spraying balls around the park and creating chances. 21 minutes into the game, he lofted a long ball in behind for Clement Grenier, only for the Frenchman to see his effort batted aside by Koval in the match's first real chance.
Then, on the half hour mark, controversy struck. Sahin was at the heart of it again, serving a delicious corner in from the left into the box. Surprisingly, diminutive Marco Verratti was on the spot, looking set to head the ball in at the back post, only to be unceremoniously hauled down by Sebastian Rode. Amidst massive protests from the players, the referee had no choice but to give the penalty. De Rossi stepped up to take the spot kick and sent Koval the wrong way, making it 1-0 to the Italians.
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Daniele De Rossi's perfectly dispatched penalty kick gave Roma a priceless 1-0 lead midway through the first half, sending the red half of the 72,500 fans into raptures.
The teams went into the break with Dortmund trailing, and Der BVB came out in the second period knowing that everything was on the line. Striker Andreas Cornelius and winger Jonas Hofmann came on in an attempt to sway the game in the Germans' favor, and Totti responded with bringing on Maxime Gonalons for attacking-minded Clement Grenier.
Some fans grew worried that the Scudetto champions were going to drop back and invite pressure, but they looked defensively astute throughout most of the half. Youngsters Tin Jedvaj and Samuel Umtiti, who had somehow displaced the previously untouchable Mehdi Benatia this season, marshaled the defense brilliantly with De Rossi and Gonalons sweeping up in front of them.
With just ten minutes to go, Dortmund started to really throw everything forward. Their best chance fell to Jonas Hofmann when he was sought out perfectly by Mats Hummels' long ball over the top. The young winger took a touch toward goal and looked set to get a shot on frame, only to be denied by a flawless, last-ditch sliding challenge from Samuel Umtiti to preserve Roma's lead.
Despite his men's best efforts, Klopp's men fell just short, and the final whistle heralded the first ever UEFA Champions League win in AS Roma history thanks to a first half penalty from the man with the band, legendary midfielder Daniele De Rossi. Rome, after a long, long wait, are once again the Emperors of Europe thanks to their very own Gladiator; Francesco Totti.
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