Roma crashed out of the Champions League before the group stage following two more red cards in a 3-0 home defeat to Porto on Tuesday.
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After a 1-1 stalemate in Portugal, Porto’s first strike came early in the first half when Felipe headed home the go-ahead goal.
First Miguel Layun completed a swift counter-attack, rounding Wojciech Szczesny before slotting home, and then Jesus Corona made it 4-1 on aggregate after 75 minutes, beating Kostas Manolas before firing beyond Szczesny.
Roma became the third successive Serie A team, and the sixth in the last eight seasons, to lose in the play-off round, leaving Italy with only two representatives – Juventus and Napoli – in today’s group-stage draw. “But when we went 2-0 down it was all over”.
There was little hope for the remaining nine men, and their exit was confirmed when Porto scored twice in the space of three minutes.
Ludogorets progressed with a 4-2 aggregate win over Viktoria Plzen after a 2-2 draw in the Czech Republic.
Luciano Spalletti shuffled the pack to bring on Emerson Palmieri in his place, but the Brazilian hardly vindicated the decision when he was sent off five minutes into the second half for another poor challenge.
Nearly immediately, Jesus Corona turned his marker inside out before scoring to seal Roma’s fate.
Mateo Musacchio handled the ball in the box in stoppage time and Fabinho secured the win with the game’s only goal.
Celtic had lost in the playoff round for the past two seasons, and the perennial Scottish champion nearly threw away the tie despite a commanding first-leg advantage.
Craig Gordon’s save of Maharan Radi’s poorly taken penalty in the 15th minute proved crucial as the Israeli side struck back but could find a third goal against Brendan Rodgers’ men, who advanced 5-4 on aggregate.
Saidy Janko tripped Ovidiu Hoban to concede a penalty in the 15th minute, although television replays indicated that the foul was outside the area.
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Now Porto are into the group stage of the Champions League and with six points from two matches, are top of the Primeira Liga.
