AS Roma (Italy) caught Leverkusen (Germany) at home. It has risen to the advantage of advancing to the Europa League final. In Rome, ‘Young Gun’ Bovet (21) scored a valuable winning goal. Coach Roman Mourinho laughed first in a head-to-head confrontation with Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso, his student at Real Madrid (Spain).
Roma won 1-0 in the first leg of the Europa League semifinals of the 2022-2023 season against Leverkusen (Germany), which took place at the Olimpico Stadium in Rome, Italy on the 12th (hereinafter Korean time). The second match between the two teams will take place at Leverkusen’s home on the 19th.
Leverkusen온라인카지노 led the attack with a high ball possession rate from the beginning of the game. Also, when defending, they strongly pressed the Roma players. Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso went with a 3-4-3 model. Birz-Hrozek-Diaby played at the forefront, Hinkapie-Andrich-Palasios-Primpong at the back, Topsova-Ta-Kosunu at the three-back, and Hradeki the goalkeeper. In the 6th minute of the first half, Leverkusen’s decisive right-footed shot slightly missed the Roman goal.
Roma calmly played the game. I stopped Leverkusen from pushing up first. I didn’t intentionally raise the last line of defense. It was in preparation for Levercouben’s quick counterattack. Roma coach Mourinho countered with a 3-4-1-2 formation. Abrahim-Belotti in the front line, Pellegrini as an attacking midfielder, Spinachola-Matici-Bobe-Celic as a back, Ibanez-Cristante-Mancini as a three-back, and Patricio as a goalkeeper.
In the 18th minute of the first half, Ibanez’s header from a set piece was blocked by the opposing goalkeeper’s super save, leaving Roma with great regret. Since then, Rome’s offensive development has not been smooth. Leverkusen’s strong pressure often resulted in the pass being disconnected. He didn’t create many decisive shooting opportunities.
Leverkusen removed Kosunu, who collapsed due to an injury in the 34th minute of the first half, and replaced him with Barker as a joker. Leverkusen’s attack didn’t work out either. It was difficult to penetrate the narrow space of Roma, where the entire line was lowered. Leverkusen attacked the left and right sides, but failed to make it into a decisive chance. The two teams played carefully and finished the first half scoreless 0-0.
The situation at the beginning of the second half was no different from the first half. Neither team was able to dominate the opposing midfield. A one-step retreat without much success continued. Then, in an instant, the balance was disrupted. In the 17th minute of the second half, Roma shook the net first in a counterattack situation made with a long pass. Abrahim’s strong shot was parried away by the Leverkusen goalkeeper, and Bove calmly kicked it. Beauvais from Roma Youth is a 21-year-old ‘young blood’. That goal became the winning goal. Roma, leading 1-0, had Belotti’s shot blocked by the opposing goalkeeper in the 21st minute of the second half.
Leverkusen, who became desperate, changed their attack by putting Azmun and Adli at the same time as jokers in the 26th minute of the second half. In the 30th minute of the second half, Roma removed Bove and Bellotti and put in Wijnaldum and Dybala as jokers. Roma, who took the lead, did not force themselves to raise their line. He prepared for counter-attacks by placing the defensive line in his own camp. In addition, striker Abrahim also joined the defense.
On the other hand, Leverkusen, who needed an equalizer, launched a more aggressive attack. I mainly dug into the right side using frimpong. However, the last pass connection was not correct. There was no clear solution. The injury void for the main scorer, Schick, seemed large. A frustrating flow continued.
In the 42nd minute of the second half, Leverkusen’s shot was blocked by opposing defender Cristante’s one-handed defense. Leverkusen hit the ground with regret, and Roma passed the last big crisis. Roma kept the winning goal. In the end, Roma won 1-0 at home.
Statistics site WhoScored.com gave Bove, who scored Rome’s winning goal, 7.3 points, Abrahim 7.6 points, Pellegrini 7.4 points, and Belotti 6.6 points. Leverkusen players’ ratings were low. Diaby scored 5.7 points, Birtz 6.8 points, Palacios 6.7 points, and Ta 6.3 points. Top Soba scored the highest with 7.8 points.
The British BBC evaluated that ‘Mourinho’s Roma have a one-goal lead and will play the second leg in Germany’. German legend Matheus commented on the RTL broadcast, “Roma deserved to win. Their play was more mature. Leverkusen did well in the first 10 minutes, but failed to capitalize on their first two chances.”
Leverkusen midfielder Birz told RTL: “Roma sat down too much and defended. They didn’t give us time to get possession of the ball. It was hard to create space.”
In an interview with Sky Sports Italia after the game, coach Mourinho said, “Our players were mentally very strong. It wasn’t an easy game today. We had to concentrate for the entire 90 minutes because our opponents counterattacked very well. Our players played very well. “Bovet is very smart and polite. He behaves professionally like a 30-year-old player. His playing time is gradually increasing, but he is controlling his emotions well.”
In the first leg of another Europa League semifinal that took place that day, Juventus (Italy) dramatically drew Seville (Spain) 1-1 at home. After conceding the opening goal to opposing striker Ennesri, Juventus equalized with a header from Gatti in extra time in the second half.
On the 12th, the statistics website FiveThirty8 updated the Europa League finalists and chances of winning. Having won the first leg, the odds of Roma advancing to the final were 64%. Leverkusen was 36%. Ahead of the second leg at home, Sevilla’s odds of advancing to the final were 57%, and Juventus’s was 43%. Roma had the highest chance of winning at 35%. It is followed by Seville (25%), Leverkusen (20%) and Juventus (20%).
In the first leg of the Europa Conference League semi-finals held on this day, West Ham (England) won a 2-1 come-from-behind victory at home against Alkmaar (Netherlands) with Antonio’s winning goal. Basel (Switzerland) won a 2-1 come-from-behind victory against Fiorentina (Italy) in the first leg with Amduni’s winning goal. According to FiveThirtyEight, a statistics company, the chances of winning the Conference League are West Ham (49%), Fiorentina (25%), Alkmaar (15%) and Basel (11%).