Austria Wien 2-4 Roma: Match report, reaction and key statistics

Gaining a measure of revenge after last month's collapse to a 3-3 draw with the Austrian side, on this occasion there were no such mistakes as Edin Dzeko continued his brilliant goalscoring form with a brace and both Daniele De Rossi and Radja Nainggolan got on the scoresheet.

The game was not without some nervous moments for coach Luciano Spalletti - the hosts took the lead after barely a minute, although Dzeko equalised soon after - but by the time Alexander Grunwald fired home to make it 4-2, any hope of a similar comeback to the Olimpico had long since been extinguished.

The result leaves the Giallorossi top of Group E with eight points, with Austria Wien second on five.

Elsewhere, Viktoria Plzen and Astra Giurgiu drew, meaning a win for Roma against Plzen at the end of November will send them into the knockout rounds.

With the group still very much in the balance, Roma managed to get off to the worst possible stat as Austria forward Kayode managed to tap home from five yards out with barely 60 seconds on the board.

The visitors responded well, however, and on four minutes they were level - as Dzeko tapped in after another great low cross from Bruno Peres.

Fifteen minutes later they were ahead, as captain De Rossi tapped home from a corner after defender and goalkeeper had failed to deal with Dzeko's header. And when the Bosnian scored again - cleaning up his own rebound after a brilliant ball from Stephan El Shaarawy - the win looked secure.

Of course, last time Roma led 3-1 against the same opposition they contrived to squander their lead. At the Ernst Happel Stadion there would be no such drama - as Nainggolan slotted home brilliantly with 10 minutes remaining to wrap things up.

Grunwald would score a late strike to change the scoreline slightly, but it was nothing more than that. Roma now have control of Group E, and one win from their final two games will see them into the last-32 of the competition.

Team selection

Coach Luciano Spalletti acknowledged beforehand that his options had been limited somewhat by injuries, confirming that Kevin Strootman would start and heavily implying that there would be a place for Daniele De Rossi in the centre of defence.

Both of those would prove true, De Rossi sitting alongside Antonio Rudiger with Bruno Peres and Juan Jesus at full-back.

Elsewhere it was a strong team, with Edin Dzeko leading the line ahead of Stephan El Shaarawy and Diego Perotti.

Key moments

FIRST HALF

2’ – Austria goal. The low cross from the right is not dealt with and Kayode flicks into the unguarded net. 1-0.

5’ – GOAL! ROMA EQUALISE! That did not take long – Peres squares for Dzeko and the striker taps home! 1-1.

6’ – Booking for Kayode, as he goes in with the elbow on De Rossi. A lucky escape for the striker.

10’ – Dzeko tries a snapshot but it is easy for the goalkeeper.

12’ – De Rossi booked for a mistimed challenge on Kayode.

18’ – GOAL! ROMA LEAD! Paredes’ corner is headed by Dzeko, and a mix-up between goalkeeper and defender gives De Rossi an easy tap-in! 1-2!

23’ – Grunwald has Alisson a bit worried but his shot is always veering off target.

29’ – Dzeko misses the target with a speculative effort

43’ – Chance for Austria – Pires doesn’t get a full contact on his header and Holzhauser blasts high and wide from close range

1 / 7

2 / 7

3 / 7

4 / 7

5 / 7

6 / 7

7 / 7

See more images in our match gallery.

SECOND HALF

46’ – Roma nearly start the half brilliantly, but after a good passing move the final cross is just beyond Dzeko.

49’ – Perotti played through by Nainggolan but the goalkeeper makes a good save!

57’ – Perotti cuts inside onto his left, but his scuffed effort is wide of the far post.

65’ – GOAL! NOW IT’S 3-1 TO ROMA! A beautiful cross from El Shaarawy finds the onrushing Dzeko, whose first shot hits the post but leaves him with an easy tap in! 1-3!

68’ – Rotpuller heads over from a corner.

78’ – GOAL! IS THAT THE THREE POINTS! Paredes’ free-kick is half-cleared, and Nainggolan blasts home the follow-up from 12 yards! 1-4!

83’ – Holzhauser shoots well wide from distance.

88’ – Dzeko carves out an opening for himself – but shoots narrowly over!

89’ – Goal. A consolation for Austria. The ball falls for Grunwald who blasts home from just inside the box. 2-4.

Key match statistics

See more match statistics in our match centre.

Social media reaction

Roma reaction

"The Europa League group stages might seem easy, but they’re not. Lots of good teams come unstuck but we can’t afford to let that happen because we’ve already missed out on the Champions League. This is a competition that we hold in high regard – it’s really exciting, especially in the latter stages.”

- Daniele De Rossi

"I think we showed real improvement in terms of our character, the way we calmly went about playing the match and securing the result. I’m delighted with that.”

- Luciano Spalletti

What's next?

It's back to Serie A action now for the Giallorossi, as they return to the Stadio Olimpico to host Bologna on Sunday evening.

Then comes another international break - giving Spalletti and his staff a brief period to regroup and re-evaluate before the return to domestic and European action.

AUSTRIA WIEN 2-4 ROMA

Goalscorers: Kayode (2'), Grunwald (89'); Dzeko (4', 65'), De Rossi (18'), Nainggolan (78')

Austria Wien: Hadzikic; Stryger Larsen, Rotpuller, Filipovic, Martschinko; Serbest (Prokop), Holzhauser; Pires, Grunwald, Venuto (Tajouri-Shradi); Kayode (Friesenbichler).

Roma: Alisson; Juan Jesus, De Rossi, Rudiger, Peres; Strootman, Paredes; El Shaarawy (Gerson), Nainggolan, Perotti (Iturbe); Dzeko.