Roma 4-0 Sampdoria: Match report, reaction and key statistics

The Giallorossi will now face Serie B side Cesena for a place in the semi-finals of the competition, after a resounding victory in the last-16 that was bookended by fine goals from Radja Nainggolan.

The midfielder continued his recent scintillating run of form: opening the scoring shortly before the break with an absolutely breathtaking volley, before concluding the victory with a perfectly timed run and header in the final minutes of the game.

Between those goals both Edin Dzeko - with a slick first-time finish - and Stephan El Shaarawy - with a sublime lob - got on the scoresheet, as Luciano Spalletti saw his side put on an effervescent attacking display.

In truth the Giallorossi never really looked like being beaten in this one, even if the first moment of note saw Giallorossi striker Luis Muriel hit a low drive against the post. But even before that fourth minute flashpoint the Giallorossi had been in the ascendancy - although it took until the 38th minute for them to break the deadlock.

Before that moment both Dzeko and El Shaarawy had gone close, while Leandro Paredes had crashed a volley against the crossbar. Nainggolan went one better than his midfield teammate: his own volley, after the ball fell kindly to him on the edge of the box, launching over Puggioni and into the top corner.

It was a moment of incredible class and Roma seemed to take great confidence from it, doubling their advantage straight after the break. It was Dzeko who scored, as El Shaarawy flicked the ball into his path for the No. 9 to finish smartly.

After that it was all Roma: El Shaarawy getting on the scoresheet himself with a clever lob, before Nainggolan rounded things off in the dying moments with a clever header from Perotti's pinpoint cross.

There were plenty more positives for Spalletti: Totti played 30 minutes as Mario Rui also made his debut for the club, in a game where both Juan Jesus and Federico Fazio continued their impressive recent defensive displays.

Onto the last-eight of the competition the Giallorossi go, with the match against Cesena at the start of February.

Team selection

Coach Luciano Spalletti handed a Roma debut to full-back Mario Rui, who slotted into the left wing-back slot with Emerson Palmieri rested.

Elsewhere there was a return to the starting line-up for Antonio Rudiger and Daniele De Rossi following their suspensions at the weekend, while Alisson replaced Wojciech Szczesny between the posts.

Up front, Edin Dzeko was supported by Stephan El Shaarawy and Radja Nainggolan.

Key moments

FIRST HALF

4' - A bright start for Roma but a quick Samp counter causes danger - as Muriel slips into the box and hits the post!

19' - A great tackle from Juan Jesus stops Muriel in his tracks. A few minutes later he also blocks Regini's header.

25' - SO CLOSE! Paredes absolutely crashes a volley off the bar - but it bounces down onto the line and away!

35' - Paredes forces Ruggioni into another save with a powerful drive from 25 yards! Better from Roma!

39' - GOAL! ROMA LEAD! El Shaarawy's pass is blocked but the ball falls to Nainggolan, who volleys sweetly into the top corner! 1-0!

42' - It's nearly 2-0 soon after, but El Shaarawy fires over from 12 yards after being fed brilliantly by Radja!

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See more images in our match gallery.

SECOND HALF

47' - GOAL! 2-0! El Shaarawy clips a ball through for his striker, and Dzeko makes no mistake with a calm first-time strike!

55' - Nearly 3-0! Dzeko's flicked header hits the post, then Rudiger forces Puggioni into a big stop from the rebound!

61' - GOAL! ANOTHER BEAUTY! El Shaarawy takes the ball on alone, beats his man ... and flicks an outrageous lob over Puggioni and inside the post! 3-0!

90' - GOAL! RADJA GETS HIS SECOND! The cross from Perotti, the header from Nainggolan - as he arrives before the goalkeeper to steer home! 4-0!

Key match statistics

See more match statistics in our match centre.

Social media reaction

Roma reaction

“We've been able to build on our recent results and we're looking quite good at the moment. I don't think there's an awful lot to get excited about today, though: Sampdoria put us under lots of pressure in the first half and shifted the ball about better than us. Afterwards we caused problems for them but it wasn't until the end of the first half that we were able to move the ball about quickly and string a few moves together. It took us too long.”

- Luciano Spalletti

We’re playing very well right now. We’re strong up front so if we keep it tight at the back we can cause teams problems. We need to keep this up – we’ve taken another step forward tonight but now we need to focus on Cagliari straight away. It’ll be a tough match on Sunday.”

- Juan Jesus

What's next?

The Giallorossi are back at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday evening, as they host Cagliari in Serie A action.

They then face Sampdoria again the following week - travelling to Liguria to face them at the Marassi in Serie A action.

ROMA 4-0 SAMPDORIA

Goalscorers: Nainggolan (39', 90'), Dzeko (47'), El Shaarawy (61')

Roma: Alisson; Rudiger, Fazio, Jesus; Peres, De Rossi, Paredes, Rui (Emerson), Nainggolan, El Shaarawy (Perotti); Dzeko (Totti).

Sampdoria: Puggioni; Beresynski, Silvestre, Regini, Dodo (Pavlovic); Duricic, Cigarini, Linetty (Praet); Fernandes; Budimir (Schick), Muriel.