Roma 2-3 Panathinaikos: Cisse Brace Sinks Roma As Pana March On

Cisse and Ninis run riot at Stadio Olimpico...

Feb 25, 2010 7:55:00 PM

By Rupert Fryer

More On :  Panathinaikos, Roma, Roma vs Panathinaikos
Greek Super League: Panathinaikos - PAS Giannina / Cisse (INTIME)

Roma crashed out of the Europa League this evening as a Djibril Cisse inspired Panathinaikos ran riot at the Stadio Olimpico.

Having lost 3-2 in Athens in the first leg, Roma needed just a goal in order to progress, and looked to be well on their way when John Arne Riise gave them an 11th minute lead.

The former Liverpool man found the net, slightly fortuitously, via an indirect free kick that squirmed past Alexandros Tzorvas after deflecting off Pana defender Stergos Marinos.

With two away goals scored in Greece, Roma were in pole position to qualify with Pana needing to score at least once if they hoped to progress into the round of 16. However, unable to retain possession, Prasinoi were fading fast as Roma began to dominate possession.

Mirko Vucinic was holding the ball up and playing in his onrushing midfielders as Roma looked in complete control, Alessio Cerci nearly doubled their lead ten minutes after Riise’s strike.

However, all of Roma's work was undone in five crazy first-half minutes. Daniele De Rossi brought down Sotiris Ninis in the area on 40 minutes, allowing Cisse to despatch an equaliser before teenager Ninis grabbed a goal for himself, smashing a shot past a helpless Doni to make it two just a couple of minutes later.

Roma were completely shell-shocked and the game was all but over when Cisse grabbed his brace just seconds before the break. Ninis was again the architect, rolling the Frenchman in before he coolly rounded Doni and put the tie beyond the Giallorossi’s reach.

Roma introduced Julio Baptista at half-time but the Brazilian failed to make any real impact. De Rossi pulled a goal back for Roma with just over 20 minutes left but it was too little too late.

Claudio Ranieri threw on Jeremy Menez into the mix after De Rossi’s goal in a desperate attempt to salvage something from the game but it was too late.

Panathinaikos cruise into the Europa League round of 16 while Roma’s European exploits are over for another year.
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