Conference instead of Europa League – Servette hibernates in Europe after a 1-1 draw against AS Roma – Sport

• Servette defies AS Roma to a 1-1 draw, but is eliminated from the Europa League early.
• Because Sheriff Tiraspol lost 2:3 against Slavia Prague, the Geneva team are already in the 1/16 finals of the Conference League.
• You can find out everything about the other Europa League games, including Fabian Rieder’s dream free kick, here.

Servette would have needed a win in the home game against AS Roma in order to have a say in advancing in Europa League Group G. This didn’t exist, but the people of Geneva definitely deserved it thanks to their committed performance over long stretches. After all, the 1/16 finals of the Conference League continue in the new year.

Servette starts bravely

From the start, the home team showed in front of an impressive backdrop at the Stade de Genève that they definitely did not want to hide against the fifth-placed team in Serie A. Why? Servette had not only won the last 6 games, but also the last 6 home games. Equipped with a lot of self-confidence, Dereck Kutesa, Keigo Tsunemoto and Timothé Cognat attempted their first shots in the first 10 minutes.

But the best chance went to Bendeguz Bolla, who posed real problems for Roma’s nominal substitute keeper Mile Svilar with a hammer (12′). The guests, whose coach Jose Mourinho was on the sidelines for the first time in the current campaign after his suspension, were shaken up by this start and became more active afterwards.

Bedia counters Lukaku

What followed was the ominous 21st minute of the game from Geneva’s perspective: As in In the first leg at the Stadio Olimpico (0:4), AS Roma took a 1-0 lead in that same minute with their first shot on goal, also fired by Romelu Lukaku. Diego Llorente passed the ball to the Belgian, who was just offside due to Tsunemoto and flicked the ball cleanly into the far corner with his left. For Lukaku this was already the 4th goal in the 5th group game.

In this phase, René Weiler’s team suffered the only weak minutes of the game. Shortly before the break she came back with great opportunities from Bolla and Kutesa. The answer to the deficit came after the break: In the 50th minute, Chris Bedia plucked the ball out of the air and then deliberately pushed it between Svilar’s legs into the goal.

After that the game mostly flattened out. Because Paulo Dybala failed to put the ball in the box twice (63’/72′) from a promising position, the score remained 1-1 until the end. In the end, Servette no longer needed this result because Sheriff Tiraspol lost 2-3 in the parallel game against Slavia Prague despite leading 2-1.

This is how it continues

Servette’s next challenge is away to the Young Boys on Sunday. In the top Super League game of the 16th round, the third-placed Geneva team could overtake the Bernese team with a win and even become leaders. Servette concludes the group phase of the Europa League on December 14th away to Slavia Prague.