Roma defeats Toronto FC 4-1 in soccer friendly

Miralem Pjanic scored twice and Alessandro Florenzi added a goal and an assist as Roma defeated Toronto FC 4-1 in a soccer friendly Wednesday night.

Both goals by Pjanic, a first-half substitute, were highlight-reel material.

Florenzi, a 22-year-old midfielder, also had a goal and assist in Roma’s 3-1 win over the MLS all-stars last week, earning MVP honours.

Toronto went ahead against the run of play on a 15th-minute own goal by Roma captain Nicolas Burdisso. Florenzi, Marco Boriello and Pjanic, with two, then replied for Roma.

The Italians were flying as the game ended, laying waste to Toronto’s second-stringers.

Roma’s stars — Francesco Totti, Daniel De Rossi and newcomer Kevin Strootman — came late to the party or watched.

But Totti was part of the storyline all night.

Fans wearing Totti’s No. 10 shirts crowded around the player tunnel prior to the game in a bid to get a glimpse of the King of Rome. The 36-year-old Totti made his Roma debut 20 years and stands second on Serie A’s all-time scoring list with 227 goals. That’s six more than Toronto FC, now in its seventh year, has collected as a franchise in league play (221).

There was a huge cheer in the 58th minute as Totti finally got off the bench and trotted down to the north end of the field to warm up. The Roma captain came on in the 72nd minute to an even bigger ovation from the BMO Field crowd of 18,274.

Totti hardly broke a sweat, showing a few nice touches as he continued his pre-season preparations.

Strootman, the newly signed Dutch midfielder who cost Roma a reported C$25 million, came on in the 76th minute.

De Rossi, the Italian international midfielder who missed training earlier, did not see action.

Toronto manager Ryan Nelsen skipped the evening totally. He was said to be on the road, working on possible player moves ahead of Thursday’s closing of the transfer window.

While Toronto had its moments, Roma had a clear edge in class on the night. Toronto, which trailed 2-1 after 45 minutes, emptied its bench in the second half and the slew.

Wednesday’s friendly offered Toronto a chance to rub shoulders with a Series A side. But it also cut into preparations for Saturday’s league match against the Seattle Sounders.

Toronto (4-10-8) has taken seven points in its last three MLS games, tying the New York Red Bulls and defeating the Columbus Crew and New England Revolution.

Goalkeeper Joe Bendik, defender Doneil Henry and striker Jeremy Brockie did not start, but other than that it was a strong TFC side sent out against the Italian tourists.

Backup goalie Stefan Frei got a rare taste of action, while new Swiss fullback Jonas Elmer and Spanish winger Alvaro Rey both got their first starts as Toronto dressed a total of 24 players.

Rey’s hard work made the opening goal, chasing down a ball at the byline that Brazilian defender Dodo thought was going to go out. But Rey got to it first and raked a cross in front of goal, where it hit Burdisso’s head and flashed into the net in the 15th minute.

Florenzi tied it up in the 25th minute with a nifty flick from in-close after Brazilian fullback Maicon powered his way down the right flank, treating several Toronto players like pylons. Toronto defender Steven Caldwell gambled on his positioning and lost on the play.

Toronto’s defence was suspect again in the 33rd minute, allowing Roma to go ahead on a Boriello header as the Roma forward easily beat Gale Agbossoumonde to Florenzi’s delightful cross off a short corner.

Roma outshot Toronto 12-3 (5-1 in shots on target) in a first half that went south for Toronto, which began to lose possession as a result of some poor player movement off the ball.

Toronto brought on eight substitutes to open the second half, leaving only Frei, Agbossoumonde and first-half substitute Darel Russell. Roma changed its goalie.

Toronto’s Kyle Bekker came close early in the second half with a long-range shot that deflected off a defender and hit the bar. Andrew Wiedeman then shot wide.

Pjanic bent in a beautiful free kick in the 67th minute to make it 3-1 after an aggressive Toronto challenge was whistled.

Totti’s arrival came seconds after Frei, with his torso, stopped a Dodo shot from close range after Roma had played an extended stretch of keepaway with the home side.

Toronto punctuated the fact that it was a friendly by introducing third-string goalkeeper Quillan Roberts in the 76th minute.

Pjanic made it 4-1 in the 87th minute after stripping the ball off a Toronto player. He deked Roberts and then cheekily backheeled the ball into the goal.

The Italians are in pre-season mode, with their Serie A campaign opening Aug. 25 on the road against Livorno. Roma, which has won the Italian league title three times and the Italian Cup on nine occasions, finished sixth in the league last season with an 18-12-8 record.

Brazilian midfielder Marquinho was substituted in the 24th minute. He had been felled by a Richard Eckersley tackle earlier. Rey exited in the 39th minute after taking a knock of his own.

Roma opened its North American tour last week with the victory ver the MLS all-stars in Kansas City. The Italian giants wrap up their visit Sunday in Washington, D.C., with a game against Chelsea.

The Roma website has been documenting the trip, with photos of a trip to the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Stanley Cup.

“For them this trophy is the equivalent of the Champions League trophy for European football!,” the Roma site explains.

Throughout the game, screams drifted over from the nearby Molson Amphitheatre where the Backstreet Boys were in concert.

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