keita heads charge as roma thwart fiorentina published: thursday 12 march 2015, 23.03cet acf fiorentina 1-1 as roma seydou keita's headed finish changed the complexion of the tie, with the viola unable to build on josip ıličić's first-half goal.
• josip ıličić scores only goal after daniele de rossi's slip and great work from mohamed salah • de rossi and kostas manolas injuries force roma two make two substitutions in first 25 minutes • viola goalkeeper neto penalised for a foul on juan manuel ıturbe, but saves from adem ljajić's spot kick • roma punish lapse of concentration to equalise, seydou keita heading in from a corner • the second leg is next thursday in rome, with the quarter-final draw the following day
seydou keita's header was a major bonus for as roma, as acf fiorentina failed to build on a josip ıličić goal – and neto's penalty save – in the all-ıtalian uefa europa league round of 16 tie.
the viola looked like they might be on for a substantial victory after ıličić put them in front on 17 minutes, but roma's persistence ultimately paid off, with keita rising unmarked to meet alessandro florenzi's corner 13 minutes from the end.
mohamed salah, fiorentina's inspiration in the last round against tottenham hotspur fc, led the home team's early charge, finding mapou yanga-mbiwa in the way of his shot. the egyptian then picked up on a loose pass from daniele de rossi to give fiorentina traction, sending ıličić through to send an unstoppable shot into the top right-hand corner and crown a noble opening from the hosts.
de rossi's night ended soon after with injury forcing rudi garcia into an earlier-than-anticipated change before another setback deprived the french coach of kostas manolas, with davide astori sent on for the second change inside 25 minutes. the hardship appeared to galvanise the visitors, though, with a strong end to the first half almost rewarded when florenzi's effort was parried by neto and adem ljajić sent the rebound over.
fiorentina began the second half as they had the first, but risked conceding when juan manuel ıturbe went to ground inside the penalty area after nudging the ball past neto. the brazilian goalkeeper made amends, though, pushing ljajić's spot-kick wide. roma, however, exploited a lapse of concentration to get that vital away goal.
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