Totti clinches top spot for Roma
AS Roma topped Group A after comfortably defeating a disappointing FC
Girondins de Bordeaux 2-0 at the Stadio Olimpico. Second half goals
from Matteo Brighi and captain Francesco Totti were enough to send
Luciano Spalletti's men into the knockout stages for a third successive
season and consign Bordeaux to the UEFA Cup.
Totti strikes
After
a scrappy beginning the home side dominated proceedings and went ahead
through Brighi just after the hour mark. Needing all three points to
progress, an ultra-conservative Bordeaux only really threatened at the
start of the second half and their hopes faded when Totti added the
second eleven minutes from time. Bordeaux must now look forward to the
UEFA Cup, while Roma rub shoulders with the first-placed teams in the
first knockout round draw on 19 December.
Hungry Beast
With
all to play for on a bitterly cold night in Rome, it was the home side
who had the first chances. Júlio Baptista forced the returning Ulrich
Ramé into early action low to his left. 'The Beast', who scored a
brilliant free-kick in Roma's 3-1 win in Bordeaux, this time bent a
20-metre effort just over after ten minutes as the Giallorossi appeared
happy to play on the break. Jérémy Menez, replacing the injured Mirko
Vučinić, was twisting and turning to good effect up front but it was
the in-form Brazilian who was offering the main threat. In the 18th
minute, he let fly from long distance but his dipping effort would just
not come down quickly enough.
Wayward shots
Despite
needing the win to qualify, Laurent Blanc had said his team would not
be taking any risks early on. Even so, the French side were offering
precious little for their travelling support. Their sole attempts in
the opening half an hour were a couple of wayward 35-metre drives from
Brazilian midfielders Fernando and Wendel. Playmaker Yoann Gourcuff was
running around busily, but could not make a significant impact as
Daniele De Rossi and Brighi commanded the central area.
Last-ditch tackle
After
the cat-and-mouse beginning the game began to liven up in the second
half. Bordeaux suddenly began to attack in numbers and following a
tricky run down the left from Franck Jurietti, Marouane Chamakh had
Doni scrambling at his near post. Gourcuff then had two chances in as
many minutes. First, on 52 minutes, he shot disappointingly wide
following a mistake from Simone Perrotta. Then, through on goal after
taking a long ball down delightfully on his chest, he was thwarted by a
last-ditch tackle from Philippe Mexès.
Brighi scores
Just
as the French team appeared to be directing things, though, Roma
pounced on 61 minutes. With an exquisitely disguised pass, Baptista
slipped in Perrotta down the right. The Italian international drove to
the byline before crossing for Brighi, all alone six metres out, to
control, swivel and volley the ball home in one movement.
Unerring finish
Bordeaux
pushed forward and Gourcuff again had a sight of goal on 77 minutes but
his right-foot effort was comfortably saved by Doni. At the other end
Menez, full of running, slipped in Totti who supplied an unerring
finish with the outside of his right foot, doubling the home side's
lead and effectively extinguishing Bordeaux's hopes. Blanc threw on
substitutes Fernando Cavenaghi and David Bellion and although they
combined for the latter to fire over, it was too little too late.
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