UEFA Champions League 2018, AS Roma 0-2 Real Madrid CF: 5 Talking Points

It was a hotly contested encounter between last years' semi-finalists and holders, and it was the latter who came out on top (again) at the Stadio Olimpico.Both teams came into the clash in a poor run of domestic form, losing to Udinese and Eibar respectively at the weekend.Viktoria Plzen's victory over CSKA Moscow earlier on the night meant that both the clubs had already secured safe passage to the next round, but both teams came out on the pitch eager to win and turn their fortunes around.Roma started the game brightly, looking to test Real's nervy backline, and a Lucas Vasquez handball at the seventh minute was looked over by the referee as Alexander Kolarov blasted his shot wayward of the goal.Los Blancos started coming into the game around the 20-minute mark and looked to create chances of their own through their returning marauding full-back pairing, Marcelo and Carvajal, but they failed to test Swedish Goalkeeper of the Year, Rob Olsen.Stephan El Shaarawy came off at the 21st minute with an injury and was replaced by Justin Kluivert.Roma's game got more direct as the young Dutchman looked to sprint past players but was failing more often than not as Madrid's defence proved a tough test for the young prodigy.Cengiz Under blazed over from an open goal on the one occasion Kluivert got away from his marker, and it was a frustrating night for the Romans in front of goal, who were also without their main man Edin Dzeko.Gareth Bale opened the scoring at the 47th minute after a defensive howler from ex-Tottenham defender Fazio and took full advantage as he rolled the ball past a helpless Olsen.A few minutes later he crossed the ball from the right to Karim Benzema, who nodded it down towards the onrushing Lucas Vasquez who tapped in from six yards to wrap up the scoreline for the defending champions. So let's dive in and discuss the talking points from the game.#1 Marcos Llorente finally gets a startThe 23-year-old did not disappoint against AS RomaMarcos Llorente has Real Madrid in his DNA. His grandfather was the legendary Paco Gento, and everyone from his dad to his uncles has either played for the club or been involved behind the scenes at some point in their life.So it was no surprise when he was made a part of the first team squad a couple years ago after his brilliant spell at Alaves, where he became one of the best defensive midfielder's in Spanish football.Things took a downhill turn since then, as he's gone on to make sporadic appearances for the club, not even making the bench on a lot of occasions, but tonight he got the nod over Dani Ceballos to start to cover for the injured Casemiro.The 23-year-old did not disappoint as he was a constant outlet for the back four, dropped wide to cover up for his fullbacks, and his ability on the ball and surprising turn of pace meant he was never caught out against the Roman attackers.The Spaniard won four of his seven duels last night, and recovered the ball 8 times, more than any other player on the night.It's performances like these that make me and a lot more fans clamor for more game time for the Spaniard, and Llorente has a real opportunity to cement his place in the squad rotation hierarchy in the absence of Casemiro.

UEFA Champions League 2018, AS Roma 0-2 Real Madrid CF: 5 Talking Points

#2 Roma needed Edin Dzeko or a solid backup