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Roma’s sporting director Monchi has hit out at Uefa after his team’s chastising 5-2 defeat to Liverpool in the Champions League .
Braces from Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino, and a goal from Sadio Mane, meant Roma were 5-0 down at Anfield before Edin Dzeko and Diego Perotti struck late on to give the Giallorossi a glimmer of hope.
But after the match Monci hit out at Uefa for forcing the club to sell Salah to Liverpool last summer. The Reds signed Salah for just £34m, with Roma unable to turn down the deal because of Financial Fair Play regulations.
“It’s true, I sold Salah, but I was forced by UEFA’s constraints,” the sporting director told Onda Cero.
Liverpool vs Roma: Player ratingsShow all 23 1 /23Liverpool vs Roma: Player ratings Liverpool vs Roma: Player ratings Liverpool vs Roma player ratings We run the rule over the two teams.
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Liverpool vs Roma: Player ratings Loris Karius - 6 out of 10 Made a dogs dinner of Kolarov’s early strike and was fortunate it only hit the bar. Had very little to do after that and was unlucky with Dzeko's late consolation and the penalty.
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Liverpool vs Roma: Player ratings Trent Alexander-Arnold - 7 out of 10 Another assured performance from the teenager. A contender for Gareth Southgate's England squad?
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Liverpool vs Roma: Player ratings Dejan Lovren - 7 out of 10 Had a couple of nervy moments early on. Hit the bar with a header just before half-time when he should have scored. Untroubled thereafter.
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Liverpool vs Roma: Player ratings Virgil van Dijk - 8 of 10 Comfortable bringing the ball forward and made several important interceptions. A class act.
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Liverpool vs Roma: Player ratings Andrew Robertson - 7 out of 10 Did not misplace a pass all night. Came very close to scoring his first Liverpool goal, only for the ball to ricochet clear.
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Liverpool vs Roma: Player ratings Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – N/A
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Liverpool vs Roma: Player ratings Jordan Henderson - 7 out of 10 Won several important midfield duels, including one with Strootman that led to Liverpool's vital opening goal.
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Liverpool vs Roma: Player ratings James Milner - 7 out of 10 Superb. Did so much of the ugly work in the middle of the park, as ever, and ran himself into the ground. But will the late penalty he conceded later prove key?
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Liverpool vs Roma: Player ratings Mohamed Salah - 10 Two goals. Two assists. A match-winning performance. Simply one of the very best players in the world on current form.
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Liverpool vs Roma: Player ratings Roberto Firmino - 9 out of 10 Two goals and two assists, just like Salah. Did particularly well for Liverpool's second goal, carving his way through the middle of the pitch. And his header - Liverpool's fifth on the night - was perfectly placed.
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Liverpool vs Roma: Player ratings Sadio Mane - 8 out of 10 Missed two glorious opportunities to open the scoring and then had a smart finish chalked out for offside. His head briefly dropped, but scored in the second-half to atone for his mistakes.
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Liverpool vs Roma: Player ratings Alisson - 7 out of 10 Curiosly did not play too badly for a goalkeeper who conceded five goals. Made several good stops before the opening goal. Was badly let down by his defence time and time again.
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Liverpool vs Roma: Player ratings Federico Fazio - 4 out of 10 Made no fewer than 6 clearances: that wasn't enough. Lacked mobility and repeatedly targeted by Liverpool's formidable front three.
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Liverpool vs Roma: Player ratings Kostas Manolas - 3 out of 10 The hero against Barcelona. The villain here. Made the criminal decision to stand off Salah for the first goal, when he had to put a tackle in. Was hopeless in the second-half.
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Liverpool vs Roma: Player ratings Juan Jesus - 2 out of 10 Booked early on for an ugly lunge on Mane. That was arguably the high point of his night. Frequently caught out of position and hauled off in the second-half.
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Liverpool vs Roma: Player ratings Alessandro Florenzi - 5 out of 10 His instinct is to get forward down the wing but he wasn't able to do that much here. One of Roma's better defenders though.
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Liverpool vs Roma: Player ratings Daniele De Rossi - 4 out of 10 A poor game in the middle of the park from Roma's captain. Never looked comfortable with the pace of the game and was withdrawn early.
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Liverpool vs Roma: Player ratings Kevin Strootman - 4 out of 10 Robbed in the middle of the park by Wijnaldum for Liverpool’s opener. Picked up a knock in the second-half and never looked close to his physical best.
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Liverpool vs Roma: Player ratings Aleksander Kolarov - 5 out of 10 Rattled the woodwork with a terrific first-half strike. But pinned back for long periods and did not get forward as much as he would have hoped.
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Liverpool vs Roma: Player ratings Cengiz Under - 2 out of 10 Utterly, utterly anonymous. Had just 12 touches of the ball before being taken off at half-time. Awful.
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Liverpool vs Roma: Player ratings Radja Nainggolan - 5 out of 10 Worked tirelessly but struggled to make an impression.
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Liverpool vs Roma: Player ratings Edin Dzeko - 6 out of 10 Caught in possession for Liverpool’s first. But scored a potentially crucial late goal.
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“The explanation is that last summer, we were forced to sell by June 30. If we hadn’t, we wouldn’t be in the Champions League semi-finals.
“Our accounts were under strict UEFA controls, and when I arrived there was an offer of 30m for Salah, but then with bonuses we went up to 50m.
“In short, we did the best we could at that moment. I didn’t expect the market to go crazy after that, even though Salah is having a fantastic season, so congratulations to Liverpool for getting the deal done.”
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