CSKA Moscow struggled going forward on Tuesday, creating very few chances at all. But they only needed one, and scored with the absolute last touch of the match to steal a point from AS Roma, drawing 1-1.
CSKA Moscow vs. AS Roma: Final score 1-1, Manchester City given life
For 90 minutes, CSKA Moscow turned in a poor performance in a must-not-lose match. Then they found an equalizer out of nowhere.
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The first actual chance of the match didn't come until the 39th minute, when Ahmed Musa flicked an Alan Dzagoev pass into the path of Seydou Doumbia. He had a chance to shoot, but hesitated, allowing Roma keeper Morgan De Sanctis to get into better position. By the time Doumbia pulled the trigger, he had nothing to shoot at but De Sanctis' torso.
Four minutes later, CSKA came to regret not finishing off that chance. Vasili Berezutski hauled down Alessandro Florenzi on the edge of the box, giving Francesco Totti a chance to score from a direct free kick. He took it perfectly, smashing a powerful shot through a hole in the wall and into the top corner to give Roma a lead they would never relinquish.
Even though Roma led and CSKA's Champions League future hung in the balance, the home side couldn't do much attacking, and Roma had the better second half chances. Radja Nainggolan missed a clear one-on-one in the 60th minute and Igor Akinfeev had to come up with a huge kick save on Adem Ljajic 10 minutes from time.
CSKA finally started to show some urgency in the closing minutes of the game, and found a lucky equalizer in the last minute of stoppage time. Berezutski got the slightest touch on a hopeful lofted ball into the box by Roman Eremenko, stealing a point for his team.
This is good news for Manchester City, who no longer need a win against Bayern Munich to advance in the competition. A draw, plus a win over Roma will be good enough to see them through if Bayern defeat CSKA on the final match day. City will hold a tiebreaker over Roma with a win on the final day, while CSKA holds a tiebreaker over City, and is losing theirs to Roma.
CSKA Moscow: Akinfeev, Schennikov, Ignashevich, V. Berezutski, Fernandes, Natcho, Eremenko, Musa, Dzagoev, Cauna, Doumbia
Goals: Berezutski (90’)
AS Roma: De Sanctis, Holebas, Astori, Manolas, Florenzi, De Rossi, Nainggolan, Keita, Ljajic, Totti, Gervinho
Goals: Totti (43’)
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