Pjanic upbeat about Roma´s last-16 chances

Miralem Pjanic feels Roma are in a good position to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League following Wednesday’s 3-2 win over Bayer Leverkusen at the Stadio Olimpico.

The Serie A side appeared to be cruising after 45 minutes, with Mohamed Salah and Edin Dzeko gifting them a 2-0 lead at the break.

Admir Mehmedi and Javier Hernandez netted a goal each after the interval to restore parity, though, before Pjanic eventually decided the match when he converted a penalty 10 minutes from time. 

Wednesday’s win saw Roma climb to second in Group E with five points from four games and Pjanic is optimistic about their chances of reaching the last 16. 

“We had to win, and we did it. We are not qualified yet, there’s still some work to do, but we are better placed than Leverkusen [on four points] after this win and it’s a positive note,” the midfielder was quoted as saying on the official UEFA website.

“We should have closed the game in the first half. We had many chances on the counter, but the three points are the most important thing for us.”

Roma travel to runaway leaders Barcelona on matchday five before hosting bottom side BATE in their final game.