Fiorentina booked their place in the Europa League quarter-finals by thumping Roma 3-0 at the Stadio Olimpico this evening, to seal a 4-1 aggregate win.
Gonzalo Rodriguez gave the visitors the lead in the ninth minute when he calmly slotted in a retaken penalty.
Marcos Alonso took advantage of a mistake from Lukasz Skorupski to add a second goal, before Jose Basanta headed in a third three minutes later.
In the second half Mohamed Salah hit the woodwork twice and Adem Ljajic was shown a late red card, as Roma's poor form since the turn of year continued.
Find out how the action unfolded below.
Hello everyone! We've got some great matches in prospect this evening with a place in the quarter-finals of the Europa League up for grabs. In one of the most intriguing of the last-16 ties, an all-Italian affair sees a stuttering Roma side play host to Vincenzo Montella's Fiorentina.
It's safe to say that Roma are well and truly out of form ahead of tonight's crucial game. They have gone five matches without a win since beating Feyenoord in the last round of this competition and their title challenge is all but over, with Juventus 14 points clear of them at the top of Serie A.
Hoping to take advantage of Roma's dip is a Fiorentina outfit who have lost just one of their past 15 games. Since the turn of the year they have claimed memorable wins over Juventus, Inter Milan and Tottenham and have played some stunning football at times.
Tonight's tie is very finely poised, with last week's first leg in Tuscany ending in a 1-1 draw. Josip Ilicic fired Fiorentina into the lead, but gradually Roma took control and they have a great chance to equalise when Adem Ljajic was brought down inside the box by Neto, but he then saw the resulting penalty saved by the keeper. However, with 13 minutes left to play Seydou Keita headed in from a corner to level the scores and give Roma a crucial away goal.
TEAM NEWS: Roma captain Francesco Totti is only named among the substitutes, with Gervinho, Adem Ljajic and Alessandro Florenzi starting in the attack. However, Daniele De Rossi is back after being replaced early on in last week's first leg. Meanwhile, the visitors have handed a start to Khouma Babacar who is joined up front by Mohamed Salah.
ROMA XI: Skorupski, Torosidis, Manolas, Yanga-Mbiwa, Holebas, Keita, De Rossi, Pjanic, Florenzi, Gervinho, Ljajic
FIORENTINA XI: Neto, Savic, Gonzalo Rodriguez, Basanta, Joaquin, Fernandez, Badelj, Valero, Alonso, Babacar, Salah
ROMA SUBS: De Sanctis, Cole, Astori, Totti, Verde, Iturbe, Paredes
FIORENTINA SUBS: Lezzerini, Tomovic, Pasqual, Vargas, Aquilani, Ilicic, Gomez
Everything seems to be going against Roma lately and on Monday evening they suffered another blow, with a 2-0 defeat against Sampdoria. The Giallorossi had plenty of chances to score before Lorenzo De Silvestri gave the visitors the lead and soon after Luis Muriel added a second. It was their first home loss of the season and stretched their winless run in Serie A to five games.
Fiorentina, meanwhile, warmed up for today's match by coming from behind to beat AC Milan 2-1. They are now fifth in the league and just five points behind second-placed Roma. The Viola will also be hoping that their visit to the Stadio Olimpico ends better than their previous outing, as just last week they were thrashed 4-0 by Lazio.
We're just a few minutes away from the start of tonight's match, with both teams out on the pitch and listening to the Europa League anthem. There is a great atmosphere around the ground and we could be in for a long night, with extra time and penalties a very real possibility given how the first leg finished.
KICKOFF! We are underway at the Stadio Olimpico!
SHOT! It's been a high-tempo start from Roma and they have the first attempt on goal when Pjanic heads a cross from Torosidis goalwards. He is unable to get too much power on the effort though and the ball ends up safely in the keeper's arms.
SHOT! I don't expect this game to finish goalless judging by the opening minutes of this game. This time it's Fiorentina who threaten with Salah picking up a loose ball on the edge of the box and driving a strike towards the top corner that heads inches over the bar.
PENALTY TO FIORENTINA! The visitors have taken control over the past few minutes and now they have a great chance to take the lead from the spot, after Holebas brings down Fernandez inside the box. Roma can have no complaints and Rodriguez is the man who steps up to take it.
GOAL! Roma 0-1 Fiorentina (Gonzalo Rodriguez)
Fiorentina have taken the lead thanks to a very cooly taken penalty from Rodriguez, after his first effort was ruled out for encroachment by Basanta. He tucked away the first effort low into the bottom right corner and made no mistake with the second into the opposite side that send the keeper the wrong way.
CHANCE! Roma are looking for a quick response and Pjanic has a glimpse of the goal when he is picked out just inside the box. He looks to drill a low strike towards the near post, but his shot lacks direction and heads just wide.
Since taking the lead, Fiorentina have looked to happy to sit back and soak up the pressure from the hosts, before trying to hit them on the break. They have plenty of pace to trouble the hosts and it is really set up kindly for them here.
CHANCE! What a massive chance this is for Roma to get back on level terms. Florenzi whips in a great corner from the left that is met by Torosidis, but the full back can only direct his header wide of the far post. That really should have found the target, but at least it is a positive moment for the hosts.
GOAL! Roma 0-2 Fiorentina (Marcos Alonso)
Roma have it all to do now as the visitors open up a two-goal lead, but it comes from a monumental mistake by Skorupsko. The keeper tries to stop the ball going out for a corner, but he ends up spilling it into the path of Alonso, who has the simple task of slotting into the empty net. That goal means that Roma need to score at least three goals to progress this evening.
GOAL! Roma 0-3 Fiorentina (Jose Basanta)
This really is unbelievable! Fiorentina score their third of the match, as Basanta heads in unmarked from Fernandez's corner. Surely now Roma's chances of progress are all but over and we are not even midway through the first half!
Boos are ringing out around the stadium and at the moment I just can't see a way back into the game for Roma. They have had a couple of decent chances to score, but their defending has been truly abysmal.
SUBSTITUTION: Roma are going to make a change here, with Torosidis heading off to be replaced by Iturbe.
CHANCE! Ljajic missed a couple of great opportunities to score in the first leg and he misses a big chance here. He is slipped into the box by Iturbe and takes a touch before drilling in a low strike, but it is straight at Neto who is able to beat the ball away to safety.
SHOT! Once again, it's Ljajic who has the attempt on goal for Roma. There is not much on for him when he picks the ball up just outside the box, so he tries to fire one into the top corner. It's not the worst effort, but it ends up flying just over the bar.
Roma are camped just outside of the Fiorentina box, but they are finding it hard to get in behind their opponents' defence. You get the feeling that they need to score at least one goal before half time in order to stand even the slightest chance of winning this game.
SHOT! Pjanic has been one of Roma's most dangerous players in this first half and he receives the ball in space around 25 yards out from goal before drilling in a low effort that goes straight into the keeper's arms. They have had plenty of attempts on goal, but Neto has never really been overstretched.
OFF THE LINE! The Giallorossi come agonizingly close to pulling a goal back when Pjanic gets in a good header at the near post from a corner, but sees his effort cleared off the line by Valero.
SUBSTITUTION: The visitors are being forced into a change, as Savic limps off to be replaced by Tomovic.
SUBSTITUTION: It's another change in this first half for Roma, with Verde coming on for Keita.
We are going to have two minutes of stoppage time.
HALF-TIME: Roma 0-3 Fiorentina
The Roma players leave the pitch to a chorus of boos that ring out around the Stadio Olimpico as an astonishing first half comes to an end. Three goals inside of 21 minutes has given Fiorentina a 3-0 lead on the night and a 4-1 aggregate advantage, with a place in the quarter-finals firmly in their grasp.
Half Time: #RomaFiorentina 0-3 (9' G. Rodriguez, 18' Alonso, 19' Basanta) #UEL pic.twitter.com/HBFVu9tsot
— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) March 19, 2015
It really has been a stunning game so far, with Roma now needing four goals to progress to the last eight. They have had a few attempts on goal, but a comeback seems incredibly unlikely and by the end of the half they looked completely deflated and devoid of any confidence.
Roma have already made a couple of substitutions this evening and with one more change to make, we could see Totti coming on shortly after the break. The Roma captain has inspired his team to some memorable wins over the years and they really do need him now more than ever.
Before we head back to Rome, let's take a quick look across the continent at this evening's other Europa League games. In today's early kick off, Napoli became the first side to book their place in the last eight with a goalless draw against Dynamo Moscow. There's one other match live right now and Dynamo Kyiv are 3-1 up against Everton, which puts the Ukrainian side 4-3 ahead on aggregate.
The hosts take the kick off and get the action back underway at the Stadio Olimpico!
OFF THE BAR! If the tie wasn't already over then it would have been if this had gone in. Salah bursts forward from the halfway line and dances into the box, before brushing aside the challenge on Verde. He then has just the keeper to beat, but he places his effort onto the top of the bar. It would have been a stunning solo goal had it gone in and the Egyptian is no stranger to wonder strikes in recent weeks.
Roma keep pressing, but they are just not having any luck in front of goal. Ljajic has another attempt with a low effort that he hits straight down the middle into the gloves of the keeper, before Iturbe lashes one in from range that flies well wide of the target.
SAVE! Fiorentina almost score their fourth of the match as the brilliant Salah leads a counter and drives his way through the middle. He then slides a ball into the path of Babacar who looks to find the bottom corner, but Skorupski gets down well to push the ball behind for a corner.
SUBSTITUTION: We won't be seeing Totti this evening, as Yanga-Mbiwa limps off injured to be replaced by Astori.
CHANCES! Babacar has another attempt for the visitors when he is picked out inside the box, but he drills his low effort straight at the keeper. Moments later the hosts break at pace and Florenzi works some room before drilling a strike just over the top.
Gervinho has a huge chance to claw a goal back for Roma when he beats the offside trap and charges through the middle. He then takes the ball past Neto and it looks as if he will slide it home, but Basanta gets back to make a brilliant last-ditch tackle to put it behind for a corner.
SUBSTITUTION: Fiorentina are making their second change of the evening, with Babacar making way for Vargas.
While Roma are still pressing for a way back into this match, a goal just does not look arriving any time soon. Fiorentina deserve a lot of credit for their defensive display this evening and of course their attacking prowess inside the opening 21 minutes.
Some of the football from the visitors tonight has been fantastic and they have kept possession extremely well in this second half. Based on their efforts here and some of their other performances over recent weeks, they must now be considered as one of the favourites to win the Europa League this season and few would back against them.
You can sense the frustration from the Roma players and they have put in a few poor tackles over recent minutes. They have also been arguing with the officials a bit more and Florenzi is incensed after not being given a penalty when he thought that his cross hit a Fiorentina hand in the box.
OFF THE POST! Salah has been fantastic tonight and for the second time he hits the woodwork. On this occasion, he dribbles to the edge of the box before crashing in a powerful drive that beats Skorupski, but comes thumping back off the post.
SUBSTITUTION: It's a final change for the visitors, with former Roma midfielder Aquilani coming on for Valero.
SHOT! Iturbe has been lively since coming on and he has looked Roma's best chance of a goal. He has another good chance to score when he robs possession on the wing and drives into the box, before getting a low shot away which is well struck, but hit straight at the keeper.
RED CARD! Roma's evening goes from bad to worse, as Ljajic is shown his second yellow card of the match for a foul on Aquilani and receives his marching orders from the referee.
SHOT! De Rossi tries to pick out the top corner for the hosts with a strike from range, but he puts it well over the bar. There is also going to be just one minute of stoppage time for Roma left to suffer this evening.
FULL-TIME: Roma 0-3 Fiorentina
The final whistle brings another round of boos from the Roma fans who are making their feelings known. Their team has been dismantled this evening by a brilliant Fiorentina, who have cruised into the quarter-finals thanks to a clinical first-half display.
Our coverage from the Stadio Olimpico is over, but stick around as we've got plenty more Europa League action to come. There's live coverage of Sevilla's clash with Villarreal and Wolfsburg's visit to Inter Milan. I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening. Goodbye!
Written by
Alex Meyers
Alex Meyers
