Porto Eliminates Nine-Man Roma To Win Champions League Playoff 3-0

Portuguese club Porto defeated Roma 3-0 in the second leg of their Champions League playoff in Rome on Tuesday to advance to the group stage of the competition on a 4-1 aggregate and send the Serie A club crashing into the second-tier Europa League group stage instead.

Porto Eliminates Nine-Man Roma To Win Champions League Playoff 3-0

Roma were the favorites after tying 1-1 in Portugal, but fell behind after Felipe gave the visitors an early lead. The Italians fell apart as Daniele de Rossi and Emerson Palmieri were given straight red cards, one in each half of the game.

De Rossi was sent off in the 39th minute for stepping on Maxi Pereira, and then Emerson was ejected in the 50th.

Felipe, who scored an own goal in the opening leg match with Roma to cause the draw, headed home off a free kick in the eighth minute for a 1-0 Porto lead.

As Roma desperately attempted to score with the two-man disadvantage, Porto continued its unrelenting strike. Mexican defender Miguel Layun, 28, rounded onrushing goalie Wojciech Szczesny and fired into an empty net to give Porto a 2-0 lead in the 73rd minute.

Two minutes later, Layun’s compatriot, 23-year-old winger Jesus ‘Tecatito’ Corona kicked a high shot from just a few feet away from the goal, on the left side of the box to seal the 3-0 victory.

Porto now awaits Thursday’s Champions League draw, which will determine its fate for the next stage of the tournament.

Roma are the third Serie A team in consecutive years to lose in the play-off round, thus leaving Juventus and Napoli to represent Italy in Thursday’s group-stage draw.

In Tuesday’s other four Champions League playoff second legs:

Monaco 1-0 Villarreal (Monaco through on a 3-1 aggregate)

Viktoria Plzen 2-2 Ludogorets (Ludogorets through on a 4-2 aggregate)

Legia Warsaw 1-1 Dundalk (Legia Warsaw through on a 3-1 aggregate)

Hapoel Be’er Sheva 2-0 Celtic (Celtic through on a 5-4 aggregate)

ROME, ITALY – AUGUST 23: Alex Telles (L) of FC Porto competes for the ball with Juan Iturbe of AS Roma during the UEFA Champions League qualifying playoff round second leg match between AS Roma and FC Porto at Stadio Olimpico on August 23, 2016 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)