Mourinho’s AS Roma were unlucky to lose against Feyenoord in the first leg of their quarter-final Europa League clash.
AS Roma have it all to do after they suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Feyenoord in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final clash at De Kuip on Thursday evening.
The match was a repeat of last season’s UEFA Europa Conference League final, with Roma prevailing on that occasion.
How it happened
Feyenoord started the better of the two teams, as Arne Slot’s men went out on the attack from the blast of the whistle.
But Roma were solid at the back, as expected, giving the home side no sniff at goal. Feyenoord did continue to press forward in numbers, but they were reduced to speculative shots from distance.
As the match progressed, Roma grew into the game, putting pressure on Feyenoord’s defence on the counter, although they could not fashion out a clear chance, either.
But just as it looked like Mourinho’s men were gaining momentum, they suffered a major blow as Paulo Dybala went off with a suspected groin injury.
However, Dybala’s withdrawal did not take the sting out of them surprisingly, as they continued to be dangerous going forward.
The away side eventually got the reward for their attacking play as they were awarded a penalty in the 43rd minute after Tammy Abraham was pulled down in the box.
However, captain Lorenzo Pellegrini missed the chance to put Roma ahead, fluffing his lines from the spot as he hit his kick against the post.
Feyenoord pick up the pace against Roma
Pellegrini’s missed spot-kick proved to be the last real action of the half, but it woke Feyenoord up in the second. Slot’s men started on the front foot following the break, putting pressure on Roma’s defence.
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The pressure would eventually pay off as they took the lead through a stunning strike from Mats Wieffer. The Dutch football hit a fine volley from outside the box after Ousssama Idrissi’s cross fell into his path.
To their credit, Roma did respond well, but their task was made more difficult after Abraham went off injured with a shoulder injury.
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However, Roma will confident in their chances of overturning the lead in the second leg at the Stadio Olimpico next week.
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