Football at Fenway kicked off to a fairly exciting start, but nevertheless Liverpool FC and AS Roma entered the locker rooms on Wednesday night tied up at 0-0. Chances were created for both sides but it definitely appeared as though Liverpool was on the front foot through most of the half.
The Reds nearly opened the scoring in the first few moments of the match. JonJo Shelvey spied Bogdan Lobont off his line and tried an audacious chip from 50 yards or so away. He tried to get the right mix of lift and speed on the ball to beat Lobont, but in the end it was a simple catch for the Romanian netminder.
Roma came right back in the fifth minute with a fantastic chance for Nicolas Lopez. A cross from the left found his head unmarked, but the Uruguayan forward snapped his header wide. Roma then had perhaps their best chance of the half when Paniagotis Taksidis stormed in on goal all alone, but his shot from just inside the area was saved well by Peter Gulacsi. Daniel Pablo Osvaldo attempted an acrobatic volley on the rebound, but skied it into the stands.
Raheem Sterling and Nathan Eccleston each had decent chances in the half, but as the game wore on, it became the Shelvey and Joe Cole show in front of the Roma net. Cole almost chipped Lobont in the 33rd minute, this one from the top of the D, but though his technique was excellent the ball clanged off the top of the crossbar and out.
Shelvey showcased his own touch and skill in the 41st minute when he dribbled and danced his way through the entire Roma defense before snapping a shot on goal from barely ten yards out, but Lobont somehow got down and parried it away. Cole went close again 44th when he let fly from the edge of the area, but again Lobont was equal to the low shot.
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