Horror Barcelona ratings as Roma dump Lionel Messi and co out of Champions League

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  • Lionel Messi

    Roma shocked the world on Tuesday night as they completed one of the great Champions League comebacks in history by beating Barcelona 3-0, going through to the semi-finals on away goals.

    Barcelona simply could not compete with the Italians’ physicality as Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi were outmuscled and out-thought by the likes of Kevin Strootman and Daniele De Rossi.

    Edin Dzeko and a De Rossi penalty gave the visitors jitters before defender Kostas Manolas finished the job.

    Barca’s ratings make for grim reading …

    STARTING XI

    Marc-Andre ter Stegen 8Repelled  Dzeko,  Nainggolan and  Schick and was ultra-quick off his line. El Shaarawy near the end too, but wasn’t enough.

    Nelson Semedo 4 – Clearly rattled under pressure and has a tendency to make poor decisions in dangerous areas.

    Gerard Pique 4 – Earns one point alone for his superb last-ditch block on Schick in first half. But foul on Dzeko for the penalty was inexplicable.

    Samuel Umtiti 3 – In no man’s land for the opener and his jitters noticeably transferred across the back-line. Another poor performance

    Jordi Alba 5 – Was always going to lose the battle against powerful attackers, but was the most convincing piece of Barca’s ill-fitting jigsaw. 

    Sergi Roberto 4 – Offered nothing going forward and afforded little protection down his flank. Surely Dembele would have been a better option.

    Ivan Rakitic 5 – The only Barca player to give any thrust but even that faded after the opening stages, as Roma never wavered.

    Sergio Busquets 4  – Metronomic midfielder was knocked around and made little impact up against Roma’s energy.

    Andres Iniesta 3 – Ran down several blind alleys and could do nothing to prevent the red tide.

    Lionel Messi 4 – Who can remember the little wizard playing as badly as this? Hounded all night by Nainggolan, Strootman and De Rossi.

    Luis Suarez 3 – Did a lot of pouting to very little effect, though was isolated given Roma’s midfield dominance.

    SUBSTITUTES

    Ousmane Dembele NA – Far too little, far too late in last five minutes. Where was he when Barca needed to turn the  tide?

    Andre Gomes NA – Story is more about Iniesta being taken off in last 10 minutes – shows how ineffective the captain was.

    Paco Alcacer NA – A last frantic roll of the dice, but Alcacer is not a guy who turns up double sixes.

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