Qarabag 1-2 Roma: Match report, reaction and key statistics

The Giallorossi had first half goals from Kostas Manolas and Edin Dzeko to thank for the victory, after Pedro Henrique grabbed a goal back - and sent the crowd at the Olympic Stadium into rapture - shortly before the break.

Eusebio Di Francesco's side struggled to impose themselves on the game in the second half, but nevertheless finished with the win.

The result means Roma now have four points from their opening two games in Group C. Next up comes back-to-back matches with Premier League champions Chelsea - with the first game at Stamford Bridge on October 18.

Team selection

Di Francesco made five changes from the side that beat Udinese for the clash against Qarabag FK.

Maxime Gonalons replaced Daniele De Rossi in midfield, meaning Radja Nainggolan was the captain on the night

Elsewhere, there were starts for Juan Jesus and Gregoire Defrel, as well as Bruno Peres and Lorenzo Pellegrini.

Key moments

FIRST HALF

7' - GOAL! ROMA LEAD! From a corner the ball falls to Manolas, who powers the ball home! He was pleased with that one! 0-1!

15' - GOAL! ROMA MAKE IT TWO! Roma move the ball forward with purpose. El Shaarawy gets it 20 yards out, and he feeds Dzeko to chest down and power home off the bar! 0-2!

20' - Defrel's low cross finds El Shaarawy, but the forward cannot quite backheel his attempt beyond the goalkeeper...

25' - Close again! Gonalons meets the near post corner, but flicks his effort across the face of the goal!

29' - Goal. The hosts halve the deficit - as Pedro Henrique breaks through and hits a drive beyond Alisson... 1-2.

33' - Strong response from Roma: a spell of pressure culminates in Peres finding El Shaarawy with a cross. Sehic saves.

42' - A good ball from Dzeko finds Defrel in space, but the goalkeeper comes out to smother it...

See more images in our dedicated match gallery.

SECOND HALF

51' - A determined start from the hosts. Kolarov puts his body on the line to deal with a dangerous cross.

61' - Another sweeping move from Roma - Dzeko plays in Peres, but the goalkeeper makes a good stop from the Brazilian.

87' - Florenzi cuts inside on his left foot ... but shoots straight at Sehic.

90' - Good chance for Qarabag ... but Ndlovu's header is just wide of Alisson's near post.

Key match statistics

See more game statistics in our dedicated match centre.

Social media reaction

Roma reaction

"We know we haven’t produced our best performance, but we’ve got the three points. That’s the only thing we can be satisfied with."The playing surface and other factors are just excuses – we need to look to ourselves and do better."

- Radja Nainggolan

"That needs to be built from within. We’ve got four points from two games and it’s never easy to win in the Champions League. We’ve done that today. We could have won differently, but let’s look to the future. We will analyse the game from a technical and tactical perspective."

- Eusebio Di Francesco

What's next?

The Giallorossi are back in Serie A action at the weekend, as they have another away meeting on the cards - this time with AC Milan at the San Siro on Sunday.

Then follows the international break, with Roma next in action the following weekend as they host Napoli in another huge game at the Stadio Olimpico.

The next Champions League game, then follows that, against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on October 18.

QARABAG 1-2 ROMA

Goalscorers: Henrique (33'); Manolas (7'), Dzeko (15')

Qarabag: Sehic, Guseynov, Sadygov, Agoli, Medvedev, Richard, Garayev, Madatov, Michel, P. Henrique, Ndlovu.

Roma: Alisson; Peres, Manolas, J. Jesus, Kolarov; Nainggolan, Gonalons (De Rossi), Pellegrini (Strootman); Defrel (Florenzi), El Shaarawy, Dzeko.