A goal-line clearance prevented Roger Ibanez from scoring, Lorenzo Pellegrini missed a penalty, and Roma lost two stars to injuries in Rotterdam. However, a 1-0 loss to Feyenoord leaves the Europa League quarterfinals open.
Feyenoord defeated Roma 1-0 at home on Thursday in the first leg of their Europa League quarterfinal after Mats Wieffer, who had earlier conceded a penalty, scored the game-winning goal in the second half.
The game’s lone goal, scored by Wieffer in the 53rd minute from outside the penalty area, gave the Dutch league leaders a slim advantage going into the second leg in the Italian capital the following week.
After he had given up a penalty just before halftime after tugging Tammy Abraham, the 23-year-old, who was recently capped for the first time by the Netherlands, saw the night turn into a victory.
At the Feyenoord Stadium, Leonardo Spinazzola missed a penalty kick in the 43rd minute that could have been a game-changing goal in a closely contested match.
Winger Oussama Idrissi made a sharp run down the left side of the field before dribbling into the box and laying the ball back, setting up Wieffer’s goal.
Orkun Kokcu, the captain of Feyenoord, and Geertruida both had excellent opportunities to increase the lead for the home team, while Roma was narrowly denied an equaliser nine minutes after falling behind.
Despite goal line technology ruling that defender Roger Ibanez’s header had not fully crossed the goal line, it did hit the underside of the bar.
After Paulo Dybala left the game early, Abraham injured his shoulder early in the second half, causing Roma to suffer two serious injury setbacks.
In the inaugural Conference League final, Jose Mourinho’s team defeated Feyenoord 1-0. The second leg of this match will be played at Rome’s Olympico Stadium on Thursday. In the semifinal match, the victor takes on either German club Bayer Leverkusen or Belgian club Union Saint Gilloise.
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