‘It seems untrue’: Roma stuns Barcelona in Champions League

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, left, and Roma’s Daniele De Rossi talk as they walk off the pitch during half time in the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between between Roma and FC Barcelona, at Rome’s Olympic Stadium, Tuesday, April 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

ROME — With his arms held out wide and his mouth gaping open, Kostas Manolas started running and yelling uncontrollably. Then he patted his chest and was mobbed by his Roma teammates.

Manolas, a center back known more for his defensive skills then his attacking abilities, had just scored one of the most memorable goals in Roma’s history.

His header from a corner in the 82nd minute Tuesday put Roma into the Champions League semifinals and knocked out five-time champion Barcelona following one of the most extraordinary comebacks the competition has ever seen.

Roma won 3-0 to overturn a three-goal deficit and advance on away goals, having entered the game as massive underdogs after losing the first leg of their quarterfinal 4-1 against a Lionel Messi-led team that was one of the big favorites to win the competition.

“I don’t care about becoming part of Roma’s history. I’m just happy that the squad has reached the Champions League semifinals by beating a great team like Barcelona,” Manolas said. “In the first leg they denied us two penalties but tonight we showed that Roma can play with and beat anyone.”

The atmosphere inside the Stadio Olimpico was deafening as Roma unexpectedly dominated.

Roma coach Eusebio Di Francesco acknowledged before the match that his team needed a “miracle” to advance, and they got the start they needed when when Edin Dzeko controlled an over-the-top pass between two defenders after six minutes and poked in his sixth goal in this season’s competition.

Then near the hour mark, Dzeko earned a penalty that Daniele De Rossi converted to set the stage for Manolas’ late header.

“It is for moments like this that it is so beautiful to live for these colors,” recently retired Roma captain Francesco Totti tweeted, adding “Daje Roma!” — “Go Roma” in Roman dialect — followed by two heart emojis in yellow and red.

Messi and fellow Barcelona forward Luis Suarez hardly threatened as Roma dominated possession for long stretches and stifled the Catalan club with high pressure.

Roma capitalized on its aerial threat through Dzeko and Patrik Schick and its stifling defense forced Barcelona into a series of uncharacteristic misplaced passes.

“They showed attitude and for whatever reason we didn’t know how to respond, or to make chances,” Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets said. “For that reason they were better in all aspects tonight.”

It’s the first time that Roma has reached the last four since it lost the 1984 final to Liverpool on penalties in its own stadium — and it’s the third straight year that Barcelona has been eliminated at this stage.

“It’s a possibility that this might be my last game in the Champions League but right now this is hard for all the team, all of us,” Barcelona captain Andrea Iniesta said after setting a record with his 22nd match in the quarterfinals. “We so wanted to win this tournament but we’ve failed to do so again.

“It’s really tough. It seems untrue. Very hard to accept. With the advantage we had we went out because we really did things badly. The Champions League punishes you for that.”

Liverpool also reached the semifinals after recovering from conceding a goal inside two minutes against Manchester City to win 2-1 thanks to second-half strikes by former Roma striker Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino.

Only two clubs had previously overturned at least a three-goal first-leg deficit in the Champions League — Deportivo La Coruna beat AC Milan 4-0 after losing the opening leg 4-1 in the 2004 quarterfinals and Barcelona routed Paris Saint-Germain 6-1 after losing the first game 4-0 in last season’s Round of 16.

“Well when you lose a match like this you think about everything that went wrong. You analyze things,” Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said through a translator when asked if would take the blame for the loss. “We had a great opportunity and we didn’t seize it.”

Roma captain De Rossi set up Dzeko’s goal with a straight ball and the Bosnian striker muscled off defenders to shoot past Marc-Andre ter Stegen with his left foot.

Suarez was so frustrated at times for not receiving enough balls that he slammed both hands on the pitch on one occasion.

Dzeko was at it again after the break with a show of brute force, shrugging off Gerard Pique and Umtiti to approach the goal. Pique then grabbed Dzeko’s left arm and tugged the striker to the ground.

The referee didn’t immediately point to the spot but then showed a yellow to Pique and awarded the penalty.

De Rossi confidently struck the spot kick inside the right post and even though Ter Stegen leaped in the right direction the goalkeeper had no chance.

Ter Stegen was again helpless when Manolas headed inside the far post.

Valverde waited until the final 10 minutes to use all three of his substitutions.

“We had enough experience on the pitch to solve things,” the manager said, before adding: “I thought.”