Liverpool allows Roma glimmer of hope after rollicking 1st leg

Liverpool somewhat spoiled a 5-0 lead against Roma on Tuesday by allowing two late goals in an otherwise dominant Champions League semi-final performance.

Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino each scored twice and Sadio Mane pocketed a goal of his own as the Reds put five past the Giallorossi, but Edin Dzeko's strike and Diego Perotti's penalty inside the final 10 minutes at Anfield reduced the deficit to a more manageable 5-2 at the tie's halfway point.

Roma couldn't deal with Liverpool's pace or speed of thought for most of the first leg, routinely allowing the host to do as it pleased in midfield. If not for Mane's wastefulness in the first half, the score would have been far greater.

Eusebio Di Francesco boldly opted to use a high line consisting of a back three, and it was exposed time and again by Liverpool's high-flying attack. Statuesque midfielders Daniele De Rossi and Kevin Strootman also did little to stem the tide.

Salah had enough time to dispatch an inch-perfect shot past a leaping Alisson in the 35th minute to kick-start the goal fest. The Egyptian chipped the Brazilian goalkeeper just before the interval to double his tally, and then assisted goals for Mane and Firmino in the second half. When Firmino headed in Liverpool's fifth from a corner kick, the tie appeared to be over as a veritable contest.

But Roma's two away goals in quick succession mean there's still work to do. Di Francesco's men have been in this hole before and escaped, famously climbing from a 4-1 disadvantage against Barcelona to reach the semi-finals.

Dzeko's tidy finish from close range preceded Perotti's smooth penalty kick in a manic finish that could yet come back to haunt Liverpool.