Barcelona Beat Roma in Champions League 1st Leg After 2 Own Goals

Barcelona benefited from two own goals as they beat AS Roma 4-1 in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg at the Camp Nou on Wednesday.

Daniele De Rossi and Kostas Manolas both scored at the wrong end to let Barca off for a laboured performance in a strangely flat atmosphere.

Gerard Pique and Luis Suarez also found the net for the less-than-impressive hosts to render Edin Dzeko's away goal almost meaningless.

Here's what you need to know:

Own Goals Galore for Barca

The hosts were below par for most of the night but were at least able to rely on a familiar source of help this season, notably the own goal. It's how the Blaugrana opened the scoring when Messi's effort deflected off the unlucky De Rossi in the 38th minute.

Manolas was even more unfortunate 10 minutes after the break when a late deflection helped Samuel Umtiti's bundled effort cross the line. It meant Barca's lead was doubled, while also setting a statistical first in the competition, per WhoScored.com:

Two own goals is usually rare, yet this Barcelona squad has become used to receiving a helping hand from the opposition. Squawka Football detailed how reliant the Blaugrana have become on own goals:

Flat Atmosphere Strange on the Night

Perhaps more curious than Barca's burgeoning own-goal tally was how flat the atmosphere was in and around the Camp Nou. Given the high stakes implicit in a Champions League last-eight tie, home supporters were surprisingly subdued.

The lukewarm anticipation for the match was obvious before kick-off, as Sid Lowe of the Guardian remarked:

Volume and intensity remained in short supply once the action got underway. The bland nature of the evening was emphasised when Goal's Ben Hayward made this less-than-flattering comparison with the night's other tie:

Hayward made further reference to the rather surreal reaction the players received, even after the home side had gone 3-0 in front thanks to Pique's close-range finish in the 59th minute:

Barca were heavy favourites when the draw was made, but the lack of enthusiasm from the stands was nonetheless curious. In fairness to the crowd, Messi and Co. were sluggish and error-prone for most of the night, delivering a performance hardly conducive to rapture.

Barcelona remain a strong contender in the Champions League while looking a lock to win La Liga. A season this impressive usually merits more plaudits.

Suarez Ends Champions League Drought Against a Familiar Victim

Dzeko's goal was no less than Roma merited. Barca had been poor, while Diego Perotti missed a sitter for the visitors in the second half. Meanwhile, Marc-Andre ter Stegen was also forced into a pair of excellent saves.

The away goal would have given Roma hope ahead of next Tuesday's return leg in the Italian capital. However, hope was extinguished when Suarez finally opened his Champions League account with just three minutes left.

OptaJose detailed how long the 31-year-old had been waiting to score again in this competition:

That Suarez broke his drought against Roma should come as no surprise, since the former Ajax and Liverpool attacker just loves punishing the Serie A outfit, per Sky Sports Statto:

It's unusual for a striker of the Uruguay international's quality to have gone so long without a goal in Europe's premier tournament. Yet Suarez picked his moment to offer a reminder of his ability as well as making the second leg easier.

What's Next?

Barca will focus on wrapping up their domestic league, starting with beating Leganes at home on Saturday. As for Roma, the rest of their season is going to be about returning to the Champions League, with the team holding a one-point lead over fourth-placed Inter Milan and a three-point gap over Lazio in fifth.