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No one can say they expected it, but then again, no one can say they didn’t see it coming. Roma was superior in the first leg, beating Real Madrid 2-1 but Madrid could not capitalize on their 1 away goal cushion and instead lost at home to a resurgent Roma side by an identical scoreline. Playing with 10 men did not matter as the Spanish league leaders were seen chasing the ball more than controlling it. The game pretty much changed 19 minutes from time when Pepe was sent off for a second yellow card and it was in this turmoil that Taddei scored the first goal for the visitors.Raul managed to pull one back but should that scoreline stays, it would have meant that Roma will go through by aggregate. And right before the strike of full time, Roma made the journey to the Quarterfinals carved in stone by a wonderful diving header by Mirko Vucinic. In about the game, the Italian team coach said that he “expected a tough game, but my team came here to get a result and they responded perfectly. We suffered at times, but we deserved to go through. We didn't steal this tie from Real. I think both sides played well and that makes the win here at this ground even more special.”Roma was excellent in defence what more with Rudd van Nistelrooy out from injury, Real could not make it through and perhaps with the goal difference, Roma came to the Barnebeu wanting to win, which was greatly demonstrated throughout the game. They were fearless and was confidence, a sharp contrast from the home side. Real coach Benrd Schuster in retrospect had only themselves to blame for the missed chances and said Given the difficulty of the opponents I couldn't have asked for more from the team. They had to play with a man down. They showed great character and kept believing they could win this game.'
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