Edin Dzeko powers Roma into UEFA Q/finals
News & Trends •
eusebio di francescos side are the second italian team to advance to the quarter-finals after juventus with the draw for the last eight taking place on friday1 edin dzeko was the hero as roma reached the champions league quarter-finals for the first time in 10 years edging past shakhtar donetsk 1-0 at the stadio olimpico on tuesday1 the bosnian strikers 52nd-minute goal proved enough after a 2-1 first-leg loss in ukraine with 10-man shakhtar failing to find the late strike they needed after ivan ordets was sent off late on1 cengiz unders goal in the first leg last month ultimately proved crucial for roma but dzeko was the hero on the night and also proved instrumental in shakhtar defender ordets being shown a straight red card with 12 minutes left1 that sending-off led to tensions spilling over with shakhtars facundo ferreyra picking up a booking for shoving a ballboy over an advertising board1 dzekos goal allowed the italians to win the tie on away goals1 the standing ovation is not for me but for everyone we are deservedly in the quarter-finals said dzeko of the applause which accompanied him off the pitch1 we managed to do something roma hadnt in 10 years so going forward to play against the best makes us all very proud1 we are among the eight best sides in europe1 roma did not concede a goal at home in the group stage and hammered chelsea 3-0 at the stadio olimpico so the home fans in the crowd of 47693 would have been confident their side could get the job done1 the ukrainians dominated early possession though and there was a scare for the hosts when alessandro florenzi nearly nodded a free-kick into his own net1