Roma miss chance to pull off great Champions League upset

AS Roma were left with the uncomfortable feeling last night that they had missed a golden chance to pull off one of the great Champions League upsets against Real Madrid.

Roma, trailing 2-0 from the first leg of their round of 16 tie at home, created enough chances at the Bernabeu to have wiped out the deficit before the hour.

Instead, forwards Edin Dzeko and Mohamed Salah repeatedly misfired and two quick goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and James Rodriguez completed a 4-0 aggregate win for the hosts.

Dzeko, in particular, has had an unhappy time at Roma, scoring only eight goals since joining them on a season-long loan from Manchester City in July.

"There are some matches that go down in footballing history forever and give you a shortcut to success, but you have to try to make them happen," said coach Luciano Spalletti, appearing to appreciate the size of the opportunity which had gone begging.

"The regret is there when you don't play these matches with conviction and belief - that's what we were lacking over this tie with Real."

Spalletti, whose side have won their last seven Serie A matches, did not want to hear suggestions that Roma had restored some respectability after...