AS Roma vs. Manchester City: Score, Grades, Reaction from Champions League

Manchester City squeezed into the UEFA Champions League knockout stages by beating Roma 2-0 at the Olimpico Wednesday.

A superb Samir Nasri strike from distance proved the winning ticket for Manuel Pellegrini, then Pablo Zabaleta added another late on to seal it.

After accumulating just five points from the first five games and starting the evening bottom of Group E, the Citizens needed a victory or a score draw to progress. CSKA Moscow's defeat at Bayern Munich meant it was a straight shootout in the Italian capital, and the Citizens came out on top thanks to a solid, yet clinical display.

The match started in frenetic fashion and continued in that vein. The pendulum of influence swung from team to team, with both sides enjoying spells in control.

Roma opened as the stronger side, targeting overloads on the left-hand side as their main route of attack. Miralem Pjanic first slipped in Gervinho, then Francesco Totti released Jose Holebas. Joe Hart was called into early action, saving at the feet of the Greek in just the fifth minute.

Rarely do you see sides target Zabaleta as a weak point, but that's exactly what Roma did, with Gervinho causing havoc running on to through balls from Radja Nainggolan.

By the 10th minute, the Giallorossi had accrued 65 percent of the possession, per WhoScored.com, and looked in complete control. By contrast, Edin Dzeko had barely touched the ball, and City attacks were lacking.

But the flow of the game switched once Eliaquim Mangala got a handle on Totti, limiting his influence. City trapped Roma in their own half and began pushing Zabaleta forward to create overloads on the right-hand side.

Jesus Navas fired in two crosses that just about evaded everybody, and Dzeko put a header over the bar. Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa and Kostas Manolas were called into action extensively until 10 minutes before half-time, with the latter showing exceptional recovery pace to eradicate a potential Dzeko one vs. one.

Gervinho embarked on one more mazy, dazzling run before the break, beating one, two, three, four players, but eventually being dispossessed (cleanly) inside the box.

The Olimpico volume dials were cranked right up at half-time as the home crowd got behind their team and tried to inspire an opening goal. Ten minutes of incessant, loud chanting gave the Giallorossi confidence to dominate possession and pry for answers, but after a few half chances, it was the visitors who struck.

Gael Clichy's long pass down the line was flicked into Nasri's path, and when no Roma player opted to close the Frenchman down, he fired an incredible strike into the back of net via the inside of the near post. David Silva, who had been warming up purposefully, immediately sat down.

Roma responded by swapping Adem Ljajic for Juan Manuel Iturbe and Totti for Mattia Destro. City brought on Silva anyway, valuing his keep-ball skills whilst in command of a precarious lead.

The impact was indirect but immediate: A Pjanic free-kick allowed Manolas to rise and head against the post, then Destro's close-range effort was cleared a yard off the line by City's desperate defence.

Garcia threw Alessandro Florenzi on to buccaneer forward from right-back, but play became too forced and too reckless. City dropped in, Fernandinho starred and the away side defended their lead with aplomb.

City added a second on the counter-attack late on, with Zabaleta of all people surging forward to fire a Nasri pass first time into the corner of the net.

"Blue Moon" could be heard as time wound down, bellowed from the travelling pocket of Citizens in the far reaches of the Olimpico. City pulled out an unlikely six-point haul from their final two games to qualify for the latter stages—a remarkable feat.

Grades

Player	Position	Grade
Subs
Morgan De Sanctis	GK	6
Maicon	RB	6
Kostas Manolas	CB	7
Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa	CB	6
Jose Holebas	LB	7
Seydou Keita	DM	6
Radja Nainggolan	CM	7
Miralem Pjanic	CM	6
Adem Ljajic	Wing	6
Francesco Totti	CF	6
Gervinho	Wing	8
Iturbe (for Ljajic)	Wing	6
Destro (for Totti)	ST	6
Alessandro Florenzi (for Maicon)	RB	N/A

Reaction

Player	Position	Rating
Subs
Joe Hart	GK	8
Pablo Zabaleta	RB	8
Eliaquim Mangala	CB	7
Martin Demichelis	CB	6
Gael Clichy	LB	7
Fernandinho	CM	8
Fernando	CM	6
James Milner	LM	7
Jesus Navas	RM	6
Samir Nasri	AMC	9
Edin Dzeko	ST	6
David Silva (for Navas)	Wing	7
Stevan Jovetic (for Dzeko)	ST	7
Aleksandar Kolarov (for Nasri)	LW	N/A