Suarez claims Barcelona were denied a clear penalty against Roma

Suarez rues on being denied a penalty in the first half against Roma

FC Barcelona kicked off their Champions League campaign on Wednesday against Italian Serie A side, AS Roma. The competition holders were left frustrated on the night as the match ended 1-1 at Stadio Olimpico. Barcelona striker Luis Suarez has expressed his frustration with Roma’s negative approach to the game, according to Goal.

The 28-year-old Uruguayan striker gave the Blaugrana side an early lead with a header from close range which was assisted by Ivan Rakitic. The lead was cancelled out later on in the first half with Alessandro Florenzi’s wonder goal from fifty-five yards which could be a contender for Goal Of The Season award. At the end, both teams had to settle for a point each in their Champions League opener in Group E.

The Italian sides are known for their discipline and stubbornness at the back and this was proven by their desire to shut last season’ s most lethal attacking force in Messi, Neymar and Suarez.

The Barcelona forward admitted that the Serie A team were hard to break down. But he was unhappy with Roma’ s tactics and approach to the game but admitted he did not to look for his side’ s underwhelming performance in Stadio Olimpico as they are on a mission to defend their trophy.

"We know how Italian sides are: they sit back and it's hard to break them down," Suarez told reporters.

"We controlled possession and had a lot of chances, but they scored from distance, which was a slice of luck. We did all we could to win, but we didn't have any luck. We can't look for excuses."

Suarez discusses Szczesny’s challenge on him during the match

The game involved a lot of incidents including Arsenal loanee Szczesny’s challenge on Luis Suarez in last night’s Champions League clash. The Poland international keeper was involved twice with Suarez during the match.

After the Uruguayan gave his side the lead, he tried to earn his side a penalty in the first half after clashing with Roma keeper in the penalty box. Suarez hit the floor, but the referee waved on – denying Barcelona a chance to score from the spot. Wojciech Szczesny was left unimpressed with the striker’s appeal and cuffed him round the face for his dive. Luis Suarez, who’s known for his feisty character hits back at Szczesny later in the match.

The second half of the match was involved with both the two men colliding once more. But on this occasion the goalkeeper was left worse off. Szczesny dislocated a finger in the challenge and the manager was forced to replace the Polish goalkeeper.

The Arsenal loanee has been impressive for the Giallorossi right from the start of his loan spell but he is believed to miss out on Roma’s games for a couple of weeks.

"It was a clear penalty," Suarez told after the game ended.

"It's always up to the referee if he blows for it or not [in the moment], but the images are there. And they say that I simulate these actions."

Barcelona now play their second group match at home against Germany’ s Bayer Leverkusen on September 29. The Bundesliga outfit beat BATE Borisov 4-1 on the same game week.