It was an almost picture-perfect matchday for Roma. Nearly all their direct rivals for European spots dropped points in the Serie A at the weekend. The defeats for Atalanta (1-0 at US Salernitana) and AC Milan (0-2 at Spezia Calcio) plus the draw for city rivals Lazio (2-2 against Lecce) played into the hands of the team under coach José Mourinho. But AS Roma, in seventh place ahead of matchday 35, were unable to fully take advantage of the situation. The Giallorossi only managed a 0-0 draw away to Bologna on Sunday evening. Nevertheless, Roma were able to move above Atalanta into sixth place in Serie A, two points behind AC Milan in fifth and Lazio in fourth. Qualification for the Champions League via Serie A is highly unlikely with three games to play.
Mourinho was satisfied with the performance of his group: “It was a difficult game against a very strong and well-organised team. And it was a solid draw,” said Mourinho after the goalless encounter in Bologna. The 60-year-old made seven changes to the side that faced the Werkself with regular starters like goalkeeper Rui Patricio, defender Gianluca Mancini plus midfielders Lorenzo Pellegrini, Nemanja Matic and Leonardo Spinazzola as well as Tammy Abraham being rested.
Bove's historic day
Edoardo Bove only came off the bench in the second half. The homegrown Roma player was centre stage in the 1-0 win in the semi-final first leg against Bayer 04. The 20-year-old Rome-born player scored the only goal of the game on 63 minutes. That makes Bove the fifth player from the AS Academy to score a goal in a European semi-final. “I felt a wave of emotions and I’m very happy about the goal and above all the result for the team,” said the matchwinner after the final whistle and he promised: “We will play with the same desire and character next Thursday as we did today.”
The match at the Stadio Olimpico was dominated by determined defensive work by both sides. The Werkself did put the AS Roma defence under serious pressure in the first seven minutes with two clear-cut chances for Robert Andrich and Florian Wirtz. “You have to take those chances,” said Bayer 04 sporting managing director Simon Rolfes. AS Roma were fortunate just before the end of the game when Jeremie Frimpong had the chance to level but only ended up hitting the chest of defender Bryan Cristante. Other than that, the Werkself rarely threatened the Roman defence. Cool as ice and driven on by over 60,000 home fans at the cauldron that was the Stadio Olimpico, the hosts gave the Black and Reds little space. At the same time, AS Roma also had few chances. Lukas Hradecky did pull off a brilliant save to keep out a header from Ibanez (19’) and Bayer 04 did not give much else away at the back. Only the goal from Bove made the difference.
Abraham: "We want to do the horrible things too"
José Mourinho, who gave his former player Xabi Alonso a warm embrace before kick-off, said after the game: “The players want to give back all the love they get from the fans on the pitch. But I’ve said to everybody in the past few days that they should be careful. Emotional control gives you calm and tactical control. That’s very important. We won against a very good team in the first half but we also produced a good performance.”
Nobody will be surprised if his team primarily focuses on defensive work in the second leg in Leverkusen. AS Roma will again be a tough opponent for the Werkself. “We want to do the horrible things, defend, and give 100% on the pitch,” said striker Tammy Abraham after the first leg. “And we have to suffer again on Thursday.” It is possible that two key players will miss the game: Defender Zeki Celik and striker Paulo Dybala have recently suffered knocks. “It’s doubtful whether they can play on Thursday,” said Mourinho.
AS Roma have not scored in their last three away games in the Europa League. They have only won one of the last eight games on the road. But a win at the BayArena is not essential. A goalless draw would give José Mourinho and his players a dream result.
