Roma returned to the Champions League with a bang on Wednesday evening, hammering Russian champions CSKA Moscow in an emphatic victory at the Stadio Olimpico.
Four goals in the opening half an hour put the result beyond doubt with only a third of the match played, and Gervinho was the architect with two goals and an assist to his name.
An own goal from veteran defender Sergei Ignashevich added to the Russians’ misery before Ahmed Musa pulled back a late consolation.
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Roma
Morgan De Sanctis – 7 – Reliable
Roma’s goalkeeper didn’t have an awful lot to deal with during the encounter, but was reliable when called upon and could not do much about the Russians’ solitary goal.
Maicon – 7.5 – Storming
The Brazilian was at his best, storming down the right flank all night to devastating effect. Signs of defensive fragility were there, but his regular ventures into the opposite half were rewarded with a goal.
Davide Astori – 7 – Solid
Along with his partner Manolas, Astori provided an effective wall for any incoming attacks and successfully kept CSKA at bay until departing due to injury.
Kostas Manolas – 7.5 – Impenetrable
The Greek international defender put a lot of pressure on the CSKA forward line, dealing with possible counter attacks effectively and distributing the ball well.
Vasilis Torosidis – 7.5 – Effective
The left back was eager to get forward and was in important part of Roma’s forward play, although not at the expense of ignoring his defensive duties.
Seydou Keita – 6 – Metronomic
Standing in for the injured Daniele De Rossi, Keita spent the evening going through the motions by connecting play and winning back the ball. Nothing extraordinary, but certainly effective.
Radja Nainggolan – 7 – Controlling
The central midfielder dictated play from the middle of the park, playing some exquisite passes throughout the evening and making some positive breaks forward.
Miralem Pjanic – 8 – Crucial
The Bosnian was exceptional, providing the assist for Gervinho’s second goal and getting himself into some excellent positions, with a goal being the only thing lacking from his performance.
Gervinho – 9 – Inspired
An exceptional display from the winger, who scored two goals and provided an assist within the opening half an hour. He was deservedly given a standing ovation when substituted.
Francesco Totti – 6.5 – Quiet
A disappointingly quiet night from the Roma captain, who was absent in the first period and, despite growing into the game more in the second half, never made his impact felt in the way he would have liked.
Juan Iturbe – 8 – Deadly
The young winger made a real impact on the game before he unfortunately had to leave the field after twenty five minutes due to injury. A clinical finish from Iturbe opened the scoring and he provided the assist for Gervinho’s strike only minutes later.
Substitutes
Alessandro Florenzi – 8 – Sparkling
Extremely lively performance after coming on for the injured Iturbe, as the youngster provided pace and accurate passing, selflessly creating a chance for Pjanic when he could have gone alone.
Adam Ljajic – no rating
Came on with fifteen minutes remaining and did not make any impact on the game.
Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa – no rating
Also came on too late to really show what he can offer.
CSKA Moscow
Igor Akinfeev – 5 – Abject
It was a miserable night for the experienced keeper, who was personally responsible for at least two goals on the night and the goal conceded to Maicon can be classed as a real howler.
Mario Fernandes – 5 – Invisible
The right back offered almost nothing going forward and never really got into the game. The chaos Roma wreaked down the flanks was down to the poor performance of both wing backs.
Sergei Ignashevich – 4.5 – Abysmal
The veteran centre back really showed his age as his defence crumbled as soon as the whistle blew. As if the shocking defending wasn’t enough, insult was added to injury in the second half when he Ignashevich put the ball in his own net.
Vasili Berezutski – 5 – Forgettable
Like his defensive colleagues, he didn’t deal well with Roma’s attacking verge and was exposed time and time again by the quick though and movement of his opposite numbers.
Kirill Nababkin – 4 – Overwhelmed
The left back was totally overwhelmed by Iturbe and Gervinho in the first half and was caught out of position frequently. He had such a torrid time that he was replaced at the break.
Georgi Milanov – 5.5 – Frustrated
Couldn’t manage to stem the flow of Roma’s attack in the first period but improved in the second. Should have a goal to his name after his thundering strike clearly crossed the line, but it wasn’t given.
Bibras Natcho – 4.5 – Disappointing
The midfielder has started the domestic season brightly, but was hugely disappointing on Wednesday evening. Almost invisible, the midfielder offered little either going forward or in protecting the defence.
Zoran Tosic – 5 – Exasperated
The winger struggled to get on the ball and looked to be trying to make things happen, but could not make an impact. He looked crestfallen when substituted with his team losing heavily.
Roman Eremenko – 5 – Wasteful
CSKA were relying on Eremenko to make things happen, but the attacking midfielder was inaccurate in his passing and couldn’t influence proceedings, eventually being replaced.
Ahmed Musa – 6 – Positive
Got his name on the scoresheet and provided a good threat in the second half, but was unable to perform at the same level in the opening period so it was too little, too late.
Seydou Doumbia – 6 – Mixed
CSKA’s experienced forward had the best opportunity of the first half, which he squandered. However, he provided a vibrancy and energy to their attack that was otherwise lacking.
Substitutes
Georgi Schennikov – 5.5 – Improvement
Brought on to attempt to stabilise the defence, his addition improved the situation but he was also guilty of being caught out of position.
Dmitri Efremov – 6 – Creative
Brought on to try and inject some pace, Efremov improved his side going forward but was often frustrated by the excellent Manolas.
Kirill Panchenko – 6 – Impact
The attacking midfielder made the kind of impact Eremenko was supposed to provide, and made an assist for Musa as well as causing some problems for the Roma backline.
Follow Alasdair Mackenzie on Twitter: @olimpiacalcio