Shakhtar beats ten-man Roma 3-0 to advance

Shakhtar beats ten-man Roma 3-0 to advance

Published Mar. 8, 2011 9:25 p.m. ET

Shakhtar Donetsk advanced to the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time in its history, beating 10-man AS Roma 3-0 after goals from Tomas Huebschmann, Willian and Eduardo da Silva.

The Ukrainian club went through 6-2 on aggregate after winning 3-2 in Rome in the first leg.

Huebschmann gave Shakhtar the lead on a freezing evening in the 18th minute, flicking the ball into the net from Willian's cross.

Roma defender Philippe Mexes was sent off in the 41st after receiving two yellow cards from World Cup final referee Howard Webb for fouls as Luiz Adriano looked to break away. It was the 10th red card of the Frenchman's career.

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''The dismissal of Mexes changed the game,'' Roma coach Vincenzo Montella said.

Willian's curled shot in the 58th and a neat finish from Eduardo in the 87th rounded off an impressive victory for Shakhtar.

''We had a very good preparation for this match,'' Shakhtar coach Mircea Lucescu said. ''We were well organized and after we've scored the first goal, Roma didn't exist for us anymore. We won the match because we deserved it.''

Trailing 1-0 on the night and 4-2 overall against a team that hasn't lost at home for more than two years, Roma needed to take all of its opportunities.

However, Roma missed a penalty in the 27th after Marco Borriello had been pulled down by Henrikh Mkhitaryan as the ball was crossed from a corner. Borriello took the penalty himself but his shot was stopped by goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov's dive to his left.

Roma started the match brightly, with Borriello getting into some attacking good positions. But it was Shakhtar that made it count.

Willian sent in a cross that Huebschmann flicked past the defense and goalkeeper, the ball landing in the far corner of the net.

Roma, now needing three goals to win, continued to press, but Shakhtar looked dangerous on the break with its quick forwards.

Shakhtar continued to break with menace with its fullbacks pushing high up the pitch to add width.

After Mexes was dismissed, Roma could have been down to nine men just before halftime when captain Daniele De Rossi pushed a forearm into Dario Srna's face, but the referee appeared not to see the incident.

Shakhtar put the result beyond doubt when a corner found Willian in space just inside the area, and he curled a half-volley into the far corner.

The match became increasingly ill-tempered as a frustrated Roma team fouled Shakhtar's players who were passing the ball confidently.

Eduardo sealed the victory after intercepting a poor back-pass and sliding the ball into the back of the net.

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