Roma advanced to the last 16 and condemned Bordeaux to a place in the Uefa Cup with a 2-0 victory.
Brighi and Totti seal victory for Italians
Roma advanced to the last 16 and condemned Bordeaux to a place in the Uefa Cup with a 2-0 victory in their final UEFA Champions League Group A game.
Matteo Brighi and Francesco Totti found the target in the second half as the Giallorossi topped the group ahead of Chelsea, who defeated CFR Cluj in the night's other group game.
With Chelsea's destiny in their own hands and Roma top of the group ahead of kick-off, the onus was on Bordeaux to set the tempo and try to pick up three points at Stadio Olimpico.
But it was Roma who began brightly with Julio Baptista testing goalkeeper Ulrich Rame after just three minutes and then blazing a free-kick narrowly over the crossbar.
The Italian side, on a five-match winning streak in all competitions, looked fluent in possession and Baptista threatened again on 15 minutes as he drove a shot a shot wide from the edge of the area.
Bordeaux soaked up the Roma pressure comfortably as the clock ticked down towards half-time but were unable to pose many problems themselves and were restricted to ambitious attempts from distance.
Both teams seemed bereft of ideas and there were few clear-cut chances, with Roma playmaker Totti unable to exert any influence on proceedings,
Bordeaux appealed for a penalty five minutes before the break as Yoan Gouffran went down under pressure from former Liverpool full-back John Arne Riise, but the referee waved play on.
Urgency
Laurent Blanc's men showed more urgency at the start of the second half and there was considerably more goalmouth action, with Roma goalkeeper Doni appearing vulnerable from set-pieces.
Marouane Chamakh went close with a powerful strike from 20 yards after an excellent run and cross from Franck Jurietti down the left.
Philippe Mexes also had to be alert to track back and make a fine tackle on Yoann Gourcuff as the midfielder prepared to shoot from inside the box.
Disaster struck for the Frenchmen in the 61st minute as Roma broke the deadlock against the run of play, Brighi turning the ball home from close range after terrific work by Simone Perrotta on the right wing.
Bordeaux now needed to score twice to progress and Blanc promptly made a double substitution with Ferreyra Jussie and David Bellion entering the fray.
Roma had to withstand a brief onslaught as Bellion showed some neat touches and Gourcuff forced Doni into a smart stop, before they doubled their advantage on the counter-attack after 79 minutes.
Jeremey Menez showed nimble footwork in midfield to release Totti and the 32-year-old finished with aplomb past Rame.
Bordeaux kept pressing in the final 10 minutes but they could not reduce their arrears and must now turn their focus to the Uefa Cup, while Roma await the draw for the next stage of Europe's premier club competition.
| Roma |
Team Statistics |
Bordeaux |
| 2 |
Goals |
0 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 4 |
Shots on Target |
2 |
| 3 |
Shots off Target |
11 |
| 0 |
Blocked Shots |
3 |
| 3 |
Corners |
4 |
| 16 |
Fouls |
20 |
| 6 |
Offsides |
4 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
3 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 69.5 |
Passing Success |
83.5 |
| 18 |
Tackles |
22 |
| 94.4 |
Tackles Success |
77.3 |
| 37.1 |
Possession |
62.9 |
| 45 |
Territorial Advantage |
55 |
|
