Roma 1 - Olympiakos 1 Oct 31 2006

[AEKara06]

Totti's second-half goal denied Olympiacos a much-needed away victory in the Champions League Group D showdown as the hosts Roma rescued a point.

Totti struck shortly after the hour mark to cancel out Julio Cesar's 19th minute header.

The Roma captain made amends after his penalty kick shortly after the half-hour mark was saved by Olympiacos goalkeeper Antonios Nikopolidis.

The Greek giants went into the encounter needing a victory having only managed to take two points in their last three games.

Trond Sollied's men were also looking to make club history by winning a game on the road for the first time in Europe's elite competition, but for the 30th time they were denied.

The visitors began in confident fashion earning two corners in the opening minutes. They almost broke the deadlock with Christian Chivu's poor clearance proving an assist for Rivaldo, whose right-footed effort forced Roma goalkeeper Alexander Doni to dive to his left to clear.

Roma were beginning to get a grip in midfield after Olympiacos' whirlwind opening but they still struggled to get into their rivals' area.

Max Tonetto tried his luck from distance but his effort was deflected for a corner.

Just when Roma started to come to life, Olympiacos struck. Julio Cesar latched onto a corner kick and got in ahead of Daniele De Rossi and Matteo Ferrari inside the box to head past Doni.

Midway through the first half, the Roma fans demanded a penalty after an apparent handball by Michal Zewlakow from Tonetto's cross but the referee waved to play on.

The Italians continued to press forward and should have equalised shortly after but Christian Panucci failed to apply the finishing touch after Nikopolidis had been unable to hold onto Totti's powerful free-kick.

Roma were given a helping hand when the referee pointed to the spot after Julio Cesar brought down Rodrigo Taddei inside the area.

But Totti's bad luck from the spot continued as he saw his penalty saved by Nikopolidis.

The miss seemed to spur Roma on and Aquilani's right-footed effort from outside the area went wide.

Luciano Spalletti made his first substitution after the re-start with Simone Perrotta replacing Ferrari.

But it did little to inspire the Romans with their opponents quite happy to sit on their lead and hit the Italians on the counter-attack.

Perrotta tried his luck from outside the area but his effort went wide and, on the hour mark, the Italy international had a goal disallowed for a clear offside.

Spalletti made his second substitution shortly after, with Mirko Vucinic taking Aquilani's place upfront.

Vucinic made an impact straight away, with his close-range effort towards the far post forcing Nikopolidis to fully stretch to clear.

Roma's prayers were finally answered with Taddei serving Totti inside the area who controlled the ball before firing past Nikopolidis.

The goal inspired the hosts, who surged forward determined to take the lead.

Olympiacos survived several late scares with David Pizarro and Vucinic going close for Roma, but Nikopolidis made sure his team took home a point that keeps them in the competition.

Roma: Doni, Panucci, Ferrari (Perrotta 45), Mexes, Chivu,De Rossi, Taddei, Pizarro, Aquilani (Vucinic 63), Tonetto,Totti.

Subs Not Used: Curci, Montella, Faty, Virga, Defendi.

Booked: Totti.

Goals: Totti 66.

Olympiacos: Nikopolidis, Zewlakow, Kostoulas, Julio Cesar,Domi, Stoltidis, Patsatzoglou (Anatolakis 65),Maric (Kafes 90), Rivaldo, Djordjevic (Borja 85), Konstantinou.

Subs Not Used: Butina, Okkas, Pantos, Babangida.

Booked: Kostoulas, Julio Cesar, Konstantinou, Djordjevic,

Nikopolidis.

Goals: Julio Cesar 19.

Att: 20,000

Ref: Olegario Benquerenca (Portugal).

[Basque Boy]

This is a good result for these guys. Lets be honest, Olympiakos choke in the Champions League. Getting a point from Roma is a good result for them.