Memorable moments: Manolas shot AS Roma immortality during the turnaround against Barcelona

On the one hand it was one of Barcelona’s other collapses, on the other hand it can be seen as a legendary night for AS Roma. The Giallorossi made up for a three-goal deficit then and Kostas Manolas was an absolute hero.

Memorable Moments is a special project by Ruiku that recalls the most iconic moments that have happened in football. Today, we look back at AS Roma’s turnaround.

That Roman night will forever be etched in the hearts of fans. At the same time, it will always glow black for Barcelona supporters. Yet the Catalans’ setbacks in the Champions League began earlier.

In the 2015/16 season, they brought a 2-1 win to the capital from their first quarter-final match against Atlético Madrid, with Fernando Torres sent off.

But in a storming rematch at the Vicente Calderon, Barcelona took the home stands by surprise, let in two goals from Antoine Griezmann and crashed out.

A year later, Barcelona phenomenally turned around a duel with PSG, taking a 0:4 defeat from Paris but winning 6:1 at home. However, in the quarter-finals, they were no match for Juventus, who won the first leg convincingly 3-0, and won the return leg 0-0.

And then came 2017/18. AS Roma crashed out to Shakhtar Donetsk in the semi-finals, lost 1: 2 away, but won the home rematch 1: 0 and advanced thanks to more away goals. Barcelona faced Chelsea and after a 1-1 draw in London, beat the Blues 3-0 at home.

When Barcelona faced AS Rome in the quarter-finals, the fans were already congratulating themselves on reaching the semi-finals. They had been missing there for three years, having last reached the semi-finals in 2015, when they later won the whole competition.

And the first match further established Barcelona as a giant favourite. Piqué added the home side’s third goal after own goals from De Rossi and Manolas. Džeko reduced it to 1: 3 just before the end, but in the 87th minute Suárez added a goal to make it 4: 1 and it seemed to be done.

The return leg in Rome

The fans were already celebrating the progress, and it must have got into the heads of the Barcelona players, who went to the rematch to sort of walk away. And that punished them badly.

Patrik Schick was on the pitch next to Edin Džeko and could have made history right away. In the first big chance of the match, he received a centre from Fazio in the small area and finished unguarded, but his header ended just wide of the post.

But in the sixth minute AS Rome really took the lead. A long ball into the area was worked by Džeko and the incoming ball was cleared by ter Stegen. At that point, the Romans needed two more goals to advance. The stadium began to rumble, the fans sensing a chance.

But no second goal came before half-time. But the Romans entered the second half with even more determination, and the Catalans could no longer catch the pace of the game.

In the 58th minute, the home side had a penalty after a foul on Džeko, which was converted by captain De Rossi. At that moment the stadium was in an uproar, as the turnaround was within reach with just one goal.

However, despite the pressure, AS could not get the third goal. And that’s when the 82nd minute arrived. Cengiz Ünder sent a corner into the area, Kostas Manolas crashed the ball in front of the bar and headed it to the back post past a helpless ter Stegen.

At that moment, the Olympic Stadium in Rome nearly fell down, everyone was in an incredible state of euphoria. The Barcelona players just helplessly staggered to the ground.

AS Rome had already taken a 3-0 lead by the end of the game and did not let the Champions League semi-final slip away. They then lost to Liverpool.

Source: Youtube, UEFA