Chivu reels from United onslaught
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
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Cristian Chivu admitted to uefa.com that it felt like "every shot on goal was a goal" as AS Roma side lost 7-1 to Manchester United FC at Old Trafford last night.
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Heaviest European defeat
The Italian team's hopes of defending their 2-1 first-leg lead were swept away by a United side who turned the tie on its head with three goals inside the opening 19 minutes en route to an astonishing 7-1 triumph. It was the heaviest defeat in Roma's European history and the first time an Italian side had shipped seven goals in continental competition since Juventus lost 7-0 to Austrian team Wiener SC in the 1958/59 European Champion Clubs' Cup.
'No excuses'
"There is not much to say when you lose 7-1," Chivu told uefa.com. "It is difficult to find excuses. I think we started the game well and there were five minutes where we had chances but after 20 minutes we were 3-0 down." Both Francesco Totti and Mirko Vučinić threatened with long-range strikes in the opening stages before Michael Carrick's eleventh-minute opener changed the course of the tie. "It was difficult to find a reaction and we tried but it felt like every shot on goal was a goal. They had about ten shots on target and scored seven of them."
'A great team'
United actually had 15 efforts on target but Chivu still had good reason to praise the English team: "We gave so much space to players like [Cristiano] Ronaldo, [Wayne] Rooney, [Ryan] Giggs and they're quick players. For me at this moment Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player in the world and Manchester are a great team. Tonight they proved it and I think they can reach the final."
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As for where Roma go from here, Chivu stressed their determination to hold on to second place in Serie A and secure a return to the UEFA Champions League next term, following their first quarter-final appearance in 23 years. "In the dressing room we said that we have to keep going. We are still pleased with what we did in the competition - it was a great experience, we had a great run until tonight and we want to have this experience again. We are still second in the national championship and we want to play in the Champions League next year. We have four or five difficult games still to play and we have to get over this and think about what we are doing to do."
