Three first-half goals saw Shakhtar Donetsk come from behind and beat Roma in the Stadio Olimpico.
Visitors win 3-2 in Rome to take advantage in last-16 tie
Three first-half goals saw Shakhtar Donetsk come from behind and beat Roma in the Stadio Olimpico.
An own goal from skipper Razvan Rat handed the hosts the lead on 28 minutes in the first leg of their last-16 UEFA Champions League tie.
But Shakhtar - playing their first competitive game in more than two months - were level a minute later thanks to Jadson's deflected strike.
The Ukrainian outfit then went 3-1 up before the break after goals from Brazilian pair Douglas Costa (36) and Luiz Adriano (41).
But Jeremy Menez pulled one back with a spectacular strike on 61 minutes to renew hope for Claudio Ranieri's side when hostilities resume on 8th March.
Further pressure
The result piles further pressure on Ranieri, whose team went into the game on the back of a 2-0 defeat to Napoli and 5-3 loss at Inter Milan.
The hosts dominated the opening stages and should have taken the lead in the 20th minute but Nicolas Burdisso's close-range header from Francesco Totti's corner went inches wide of the far post.
Midway through the first half, Vucinic's 30-yard strike went over the bar as Roma got closer, and the home side finally broke through soon after.
Rodrigo Taddei's cross towards the far post found Perrotta and his powerful header got a touch from Shakhtar defender Rat before finding the back of the net.
Roma's joy was shortlived as Mircea Lucescu's side equalised soon after. There was little Roma goalkeeper Alexander Doni could do with Jadson's right-footed strike from the edge of the area which was deflected into the back of the net, with the last touch from De Rossi.
A stunned Roma struggled to put a good move together and it was Shakhtar who went in front following a fast break.
Jadson served Douglas Costa and his curled left-footed effort from the edge of the area towards the far post beat Doni.
Things went from bad to worse for Roma in the 41st minute when defender Jon Arne Riise lost his footing and Douglas Costa was quick to steal the ball before finding an unmarked Luiz Adriano inside the area and the Brazilian made no mistake, firing past Doni for his team's third.
Booed
Roma's players were booed by the home fans at the Stadio Olimpico as they came out for the second half, with Riise having been replaced with Paolo Castellini.
Ranieri's men showed more determination before reducing the deficit in the 61st minute when Menez got behind Perrotta's headed pass and fired into the top right corner to beat Shakhtar goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov.
At the other end, Henrikh Mkhitaryan forced Doni into a great diving save to his right before the keeper then had to come off his line to prevent an opportunity for Luiz Adriano, tackling the striker twice near the edge of his box.
In the 72nd minute, Jadson's shot from the edge of the area went inches wide of the far post.
Roma surged forward desperately in search of the equaliser and almost found it eight minutes from time, but Totti's right-footed shot from the heart of the area was kept out by Pyatov.
Shakhtar held on for the win - their first in Italy in their first appearance in the last 16 of the elite European competition.
| Roma |
Team Statistics |
Shakhtar Donetsk |
| 2 |
Goals |
3 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
3 |
| 4 |
Shots on Target |
5 |
| 10 |
Shots off Target |
4 |
| 8 |
Blocked Shots |
3 |
| 11 |
Corners |
5 |
| 17 |
Fouls |
22 |
| 2 |
Offsides |
3 |
| 3 |
Yellow Cards |
4 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 79 |
Passing Success |
76.6 |
| 18 |
Tackles |
24 |
| 94.4 |
Tackles Success |
79.2 |
| 58.7 |
Possession |
41.3 |
| 62 |
Territorial Advantage |
38 |
|
