- AS Roma beat Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 at home in the first leg of the semifinals in the Europa League.
- In the other semi-final, Juventus made it 1-1 against FC Sevilla in the 97th minute.
- The second leg will take place next Thursday at 21:00.
AS Roma 1-0 Bayer Leverkusen
It wasn’t a football treat that was served to the spectators at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Both teams struggled to create chances. So it was not surprising that a single goal decided this encounter. A good hour was played when Edoardo Bove launched an attack with a burst of energy in midfield. Bove then passed on to team-mate Tammy Abraham, who was denied by Leverkusen keeper Lukas Hradecky. But Bove was there again for the margin and scored to make it 1-0.
It stayed that way until the end. Leverkusen, who had missed two good opportunities through Robert Andrich and Florian Wirtz in the first six minutes of the game, disappointed in Rome. The “Werkself” almost got the equalizer. In the 87th minute, however, Jeremie Frimpong also missed the third promising offensive action by Xabi Alonso’s team.
Juventus 1-1 Sevilla FC
A good 500 km north of Rome, Juventus looked like the sure loser against FC Sevilla until the very last action of the game. But then Paul Pogba extended a corner kick into the centre, where substitute central defender Federico Gatti nodded off to make it 1-1 (97′). A few seconds later the game was over.
For the “old lady” it was a good wage for a modest achievement. In the 1st half the guests from Spain were the better team, after the break both teams didn’t do much. Youssef En-Nesyri scored the goal for Sevilla. The Moroccan was served in the 26th minute after a quick attack by Lucas Ocampos and safely converted the assist.