STEPHAN EL SHAARAWY’S first-half brace set Roma on the way to a resounding 3-0 win over Chelsea that displaced their visitors at the top of Champions League Group C.
Antonio Conte’s reigning Premier League champions would have secured a last-16 spot with a win but that appeared a tall order from the moment El Shaarawy opened the scoring after 39 seconds.
The former AC Milan forward scored spectacularly to sink Bologna 1-0 in Serie A last time out and his rasping opener was another goal to remember.
For his second, El Shaarawy owed much to the charity of Antonio Rudiger, the Chelsea defender who endured a forgettable return to his former club, before Diego Perotti brought the house down with another stunning long ranger after the hour.
Roma were the side to come back from a hefty deficit when the sides drew 3-3 at Stamford Bridge two weeks ago but Chelsea were not such willing dance partners and must now dust themselves down for a crunch clash with Manchester United this weekend.
Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid are on the brink of an early exit from the Champions League after 10-man Qarabag battled to a 1-1 draw at the Wanda Metropolitano.
Thomas Partey’s second-half equaliser and the 59th-minute dismissal of Pedro Henrique was not enough to keep the Azerbaijani outfit from holding the LaLiga heavyweights to another stalemate.
Qarabag also defied a numerical disadvantage to register their first ever point in the competition when the teams met two weeks ago, although both sides finished with 10 men here as Stefan Savic received his marching orders for a second yellow in the closing stages.
The visitors looked set to take an easier route to a new slice of history when Spanish midfielder Michel headed them into a 1-0 lead at half-time.
Thomas responded with a spectacular equaliser in the 56th minute and Henrique’s sending off for a high boot on Diego Godin appeared to be the help Atletico needed to close the gap on second-placed Chelsea.
Instead, they were yet again frustrated by the underdogs and will need maximum points, and favours elsewhere, to have a chance of progressing to the knockout stages.
In Group D, former Olympiacos manager Ernesto Valverde endured a frustrating return to Greece as Barcelona’s 100 per cent record in this season’s Champions League came to an end with a 0-0 draw.
Having won the Greek Superleague three times, completing the domestic double twice, across two spells in charge of the home team, Valverde was warmly welcomed back to the Karaiskakis Stadium.
However, after beating another of his ex-clubs in Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, the Barca boss was denied a second successive win over old employers as the La Liga leaders surprisingly drew a blank in Greece.
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez both failed to take excellent chances as the Catalan club – who lost Sergi Roberto to a right hamstring strain – failed to score for the first time since a 2-0 defeat against Real Madrid in the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup on 16 August.
Still, the result extends their unbeaten run in all competitions to 15 games, while they remain firm favourites to win Group H after Juventus and Sporting CP battled out a 1-1 draw in Lisbon.
Elsewhere, Layvin Kurzawa hit a second-half hat-trick as Paris Saint-Germain booked their place in the last 16 of the Champions League with a dominant 5-0 win over Anderlecht at the Parc des Princes.
Unai Emery’s side have been in imperious form in Group B and have won all four of their games, scoring 17 goals and conceding none.
They now have an unassailable nine point lead over third-placed Celtic after their 2-1 defeat to Bayern Munich, but will want maximum points from their final two games against those sides to confirm top spot.
Neymar missed a glorious opportunity to open the scoring in the first minute before Marco Verratti’s first goal of the season after 30 minutes broke the deadlock.
The world’s most expensive player then scored his 11th goal since his move from Barcelona with a fine long-range finish on the stroke of half-time.
Kurzawa then stole the show in the second-half, scoring his first career hat-trick to add a deserved gloss to the scoreline.
The only negative for PSG will be Edinson Cavani’s failure to get onto the scoresheet, which brings his run of scoring in seven consecutive Champions League matches to an end.
Tuesday’s Champions League results:
Group A
- Basel 1-2 CSKA Moscow
- Manchester United 2-0 Benfica
Group B
- Celtic 1-2 Bayern Munich
- PSG 5-0 Anderlecht
Group C
- Atletico Madrid 1-1 Qarabag
- Roma 3-0 Chelsea
Group D
- Olympiacos 0-0 Barcelona
- Sporting CP 1-1 Juventus
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