AS Roma coach Luciano Spalletti admitted Ahly were the better side in Friday's exciting friendly game which saw the Egyptian giants score with virtually the last kick of the game to earn a 4-3 win in the United Arab Emirates.

William Vainqueur looked to have given Roma a draw when he struck in stoppage time but substitute Ahmed El-Sheikh found the net with a pinpoint low shot from the edge of the area to send the Red-clad fans to raptures at Al-Ain's Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium.

Ghanaian striker John Antwi and wingers Moemen Zakareya and Walid Soliman were also on target for Ahly while Bosnian striker Dzeko and Egypt forward Mohamed Salah scored the other goals for Roma.

"Ahly are a good team and they produced a better display so they fully deserved to win," Spalletti, who turned around Roma's fortunes after taking over for a second spell last January, told Abu Dhabi's sports channel following the match.

"It was difficult and we also failed to make the most of the chances we created throughout the game.

"But anyway, we benefited from the match by introducing young players. Congratulations to Ahly and their fans for the way the team played."

Ahly's Dutch coach Martin Jol also rued missed chances in an end-to-end match.

"We are still suffering from one of the main problems in Egyptian football: Wasting easy chances," the former Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham boss said.

"But it was good that we were able to give many players a chance to feature. For example, look at how [defender] Saad Samir closely marked [Roma striker] Edin Dzeko."

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