AS Roma secured a slim 1-0 home victory over Bayer Leverkusen in their Europa League semi-final first leg on Thursday, May 11th, 2023. The match took place at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy.
Italian club was missing several players through injury, and Paulo Dybala and Georginio Wijnaldum, both of whom are not fully fit yet, were on the bench.
The decisive goal that won the game was scored by Roma youth product Edoardo Bove in the 63rd minute. Bove slotted in the winner on the rebound after Tammy Abraham’s effort was saved by Leverkusen keeper Lukas Hradecky.
The match was a reunion between Roma manager Jose Mourinho and one of his former charges, Xabi Alonso, who now coaches Bayer Leverkusen. Alonso played under Mourinho at Real Madrid a decade ago.
The match was difficult, and both teams had chances to score. Leverkusen’s best chance came in the 75th minute when Roma keeper Pau Lopez made a crucial save to deny a shot from Leverkusen’s Patrick Schick.
The match winner Bove said after the game: I’m especially happy with the result. It was essential to win this first half and go there on Thursday with the same desire.
“Today, we put great intensity into our game, and we are happy. At first, they made it difficult for us, and it took us a while to adjust, but then we controlled the game very well.”
Roma will now take a narrow advantage into the second leg, which will take place at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, on May 18th, 2023. The winner of the tie will advance to the Europa League final, which will be played on May 31st, 2023, in Seville, Spain.
The victory was a significant boost for Roma, who are looking to win their first major trophy since 2008. Mourinho, who has won the Europa League twice before with Porto and Manchester United, will be hoping to add to his trophy collection with his new club.
Bayer Leverkusen, on the other hand, will be hoping to turn the tie around in the second leg and reach their first major European final since they finished as runners-up in the Champions League in 2002.
Collins Nwokolo
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