Roma defeat Basel in thriller

Roma claimed their first ever victory in Switzerland by defeating Basel 3-2 in Champions League Group E.

Giallorossi gain sweet revenge over Basel in Switzerland

Roma claimed their first ever victory in Switzerland by defeating Basel 3-2 in a thrilling contest at St Jakob Park in UEFA Champions League Group E. The victory put Claudio Ranieri's side in the box seat for second position behind leaders Bayern Munich. The Giallorossi gained sweet revenge over their opponents who won in Rome just a fortnight ago thanks to goals from Jeremy Menez, Francesco Totti and Leandro Greco. The hosts responded through Alexander Frei and Xherdan Shaqiri but were reduced to 10 men late on as Valentin Stocker was dismissed for his second yellow card.

Possession

Basel boss Thorsten Fink named the same team that performed so well in Rome. The German coach, who extended his contract by another two years at the weekend, had to make do without defender Genseric Kusunga who failed to make the starting line-up after limping off at the weekend with a muscle problem. Veteran striker Frei, who scored at the Stadio Olimpico, started alongside Marco Streller as they looked to add to their 20 goals between them this season. The highly-rated Shaqiri started on the right. Ranieri, meanwhile, sent out a positive-looking Roma team knowing that they needed a result in Switzerland. Captain Totti passed a fitness test after suffering from a shoulder injury but defender Philippe Mexes missed out with a fever as did David Pizarro who was ruled out of action for three weeks with a thigh injury. The Giallorossi created the first opportunity of the game inside three minutes as the agile Mirko Vucinic picked out the run of Menez, but the Frenchman could only fire over the crossbar. Basel soon started to dominate possession and Roma goalkeeper Julio Sergio was called into action by showing tremendous agility to make a stunning point-blank save from Benjamin Huggel from a just a yard out. However, it was Roma who took a surprise lead against the run of play after 16 minutes with a well-worked goal. Totti picked up the ball on the halfway line before releasing Mirko Vucinic but Samuel Inkoom's half-hearted challenge only helped in releasing the loose ball to Menez who calmly passed the ball into the back of the net for his first goal in over a year. The France international was proving a handful for the Swiss and moments later he glided into the hosts' penalty area before being bundled over by the huge presence of Huggel. However, referee Bjorn Kuipers waved away strong appeals, leaving the 23-year-old totally bemused by the decision. The Italians were rightfully awarded a penalty after 25 minutes with the influential Menez involved again. The goalscorer picked out John Arne Riise with a beautiful back-heel but Stocker made sure the former Liverpool man could not get his shot away by dragging him to the ground. Totti struck his spot-kick through the hands of the diving keeper Franco Costanzo and the striker showed his relief after going 12 games without a goal to give Roma a commanding lead in Switzerland. Four minutes into the second half tempers were led astray as Streller clashed with Marco Cassetti in an off-the-ball incident. Referee Kuipers brandished yellow cards to both players but the home crowd demanded a red for the midfielder. Roma were quite content to sit back and counter-attack as the Swiss started to dominate possession again without creating any real clear-cut chances.

Pressure

Gilles Yapi came close with a dipping volley and moments later David Abraham struck a sensational long-range effort which had Sergio stretching but the ball sailed inches over the crossbar. The pressure soon paid off for the hosts as they pulled a goal back with 21 minutes remaining through Frei. Stocker's right-wing cross took a deflection off Nicolas Burdisso, missing keeper Sergio and landing on the head of the predatory striker, who made no mistake from close range. Five minutes later Streller thought he had restored parity but his vicious left-foot strike struck the woodwork to Sergio's relief. But, just as Basel were hammering on the door, Roma picked their pocket with a well worked counter-attack through substitute Leandro Greco. The midfielder scored his first senior goal with a sizzling left-foot strike into the bottom corner following some excellent work by Burdisso on 76 minutes. Just as Roma thought they were home and hosed, back came the Swiss with seven minutes left on the clock. Basel produced some sparkling football in the lead-up to the fifth goal of the game and although Huggel's goalbound effort was well blocked by Juan, Shaqiri made no mistake with the rebound to set up a grandstand finale. The hosts were reduced to 10 men in stoppage-time as Stocker recklessly challenged Totti. Referee Kuipers gave the midfielder his marching orders having been booked earlier in the game and with it went Basel's chances of grabbing a point.

Basel	Team Statistics	Roma
2	Goals	3
0	1st Half Goals	2
7	Shots on Target	3
9	Shots off Target	3
12	Blocked Shots	2
7	Corners	9
14	Fouls	14
4	Offsides	0
1	Yellow Cards	3
1	Red Cards	0
90.7	Passing Success	81.6
17	Tackles	14
88.2	Tackles Success	78.6
67.2	Possession	32.8
63.9	Territorial Advantage	36.1