Four Things We Learned: Luck runs out despite valiant Olimpico effort

Roma come within a whisker of final

Following a thoroughly captivating two legs against a quality Liverpool side, a determined, resolute and, at times, unlucky Roma ultimately bowed out of the Champions League, narrowly succumbing to the Reds 6-7 on aggregate.

Despite showing immense character and spirit to win the return leg 4-2, this wasn't enough to reach the final, with VAR related controversy rife in the result.

However, the Giallorossi still warrant please of praise for what's been an exhilarating campaign, where they continually defied the odds to keep progressing.

Roma's inspirational captain, Daniele De Rossi, summed things up beautifully in his moving post-match comments, saying: "On nights like this you sense the pride, the love, the very essence of being Roman. That's something we have to build on now.

"Given how big a club Roma is, reaching the Champions League semi-finals should be something we do once every three years, not once every 30.

“I'm proud of my teammates and so very proud of the fans who were here today – and who have always been behind us. It was the sort of atmosphere I hadn't seen for years, since I was a kid, like in those games against Brondby and Slavia Prague. They may not have brought us a trophy but I've never forgotten them.”

VAR incidents costly

On such a momentous occasion in front on their home fans, it was disappointing to see Roma hindered by some poor refereeing decisions, which could have been put right if VAR was in use. To make matters more frustrating, the blown calls would have resulted in Roma receiving two penalties and Liverpool getting a man sent off.

The first incident saw Edin Dzeko bundled over by Loris Karius inside the box only for the Bosnian to be wrongly ruled offside. And the second saw Trent Alexander-Arnold block Stephan El Shaarawy's shot with a stray hand, which should have seen a spot kick awarded and the Englishman sent off.

It wasn't to be, however, with both calls going against Roma, something Roma president Jim Pallotta, lamented after the contest.

"I know it is difficult to ref but it is really embarrassing that we lose on aggregate like that. You just can't let stuff like this happen," he said.

"You can all look at it yourself. In the 49th minute he wasn't offside and he gets taken down by the goalie. It was a handball that was obvious to everyone probably in the world except people on the pitch. It should have been a red card which would have been 10 men in the 63rd minute. If they don't get VAR in the Champions League, it is an absolute joke."

Kolarov wins battle with Salah

Aleksandar Kolarov deserves special mention for the excellent job he did on former Roma star, Mohamed Salah. After terrorising his old club in the first leg, the robust Serb did a splendid job of limiting the Egyptian's impact at the Olimpico.

His alert anticipation and ability to read the play ensured he know precisely when to give his man just enough separation to make him appear as a viable passive outlet for a colleague, before then vigorously pressing him to dispossess or force his adversary into a turnover.

In addition, the way Kolarov aggressively, intensively and rapidly responded to pressing triggers, such as when Salah received with his back to goal, served as another highlight.

Meanwhile, on the attacking end, he took full advantage of Salah not wholeheartedly tracking his forward bursts to be a huge offensive threat too.

Infield forwards positioning

There were many positives attached to the way Roma's front trio persistently positioned themselves in central areas. To start with, not only did this give their fullbacks huge space to exploit out wide, for their inside drifts pinned their marker, but it crucially ensured they had a great presence in dangerous central attacking areas too.

As seen in the image below, which occurred just prior to Roma's fortunate opener, Dzeko, Patrik Schick and El Shaarawy, plus midfielder, Lorenzo Pellegrini, are all inside the box.

This subsequently gives the Giallorossi an ideal 4v4, while also placing the Liverpool backline under huge pressure due to the dynamic advantage the forward facing Roma players have over their more awkwardly oriented opponents.