Roma are defeated 2-0 at home by Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final. The Germans, fresh champions of Germany, prevailed at the Olimpico with goals from Wirtz in the 28th minute and Andrich in the 73rd minute.
The return match will be played on Thursday 9 May in Leverkusen. The Giallorossi team coached by De Rossi will have to win away from home with a 2-goal difference to take the duel to extra time or with a 3-goal advantage to reach the final. The German champions, coached by Xabi Alonso, have not lost a single match in the 2023-2024 season.
The match
The first dangerous action came from Roma in the 11th minute with Dybala hitting the goal with his left foot from very long range, but Kovar is not surprised and blocks centrally. In the 16th minute Tah was overtaken by Lukaku in the physical duel who held back and knocked down the Belgian to avoid his sprint towards the goal. Yellow for the German defender.
De Rossi’s team maneuvers and becomes dangerous again in the 19th minute when El Shaarawy is caught behind the visitors’ defensive line, enters the area from the left and puts in a ball which is deflected for a corner, but he was in an offside position . In the 21st minute, a good opening by Karsdorp for Cristante who crosses low and tense but only finds the corner. From the flag Dybala catches Paredes who hooks and serves Lukaku who heads the ball into the crossbar.
At the first inattention Roma risked: Wirtz sent Frimpong towards goal with a low vertical through ball, but the Dutch winger only found the outside of the net following Svilar’s exit. Dybala is the protagonist shortly afterwards with a free kick, but the ball ends up high over the crossbar.
And shortly afterwards, following a sensational defensive error for the Giallorossi, Leverkusen took the lead: in the 28th minute Karsdorp missed the back pass to Mancini, with Grimaldo who pounces on the ball and serves Wirtz only in front of the goal to make it 1-0. The Giallorossi felt the pinch and in the 31st minute they risked doubling their lead again with Frimpong serving Wirtz who challenged Svilar.
Xabi Alonso’s team gains ground and in the 34th minute Grimaldo puts it in the center for Frimpong who tries first but just misses the target. Favorable moment for the Germans with Roma in trouble. In the 38th minute Wirtz receives the ball at twenty meters and crosses with his right foot with the ball still ending up wide. In the 41st minute Andrich tries from the edge but Svilar opposes in two stages. Roma show up again in the 43rd minute: Lukaku passes to Pellegrini who kicks with the plate but misses the target for a very short time. In the 46th minute the Giallorossi still threatened from a corner but Kovar unlocked a deflection from a teammate. In full recovery Leverkusen is still dangerous on the restart but Wirtz wastes.
At the beginning of the second half, Roma tried to take advantage of the inactive balls and in the 49th minute Cristante arrived on a cross from the left who passed the ball to Karsdorpo who narrowly missed the ball. In the 51st minute Leverkusen responds with Hincapié who gets rid of Paredes and hits a header on the edge of the area but misses the target. Giallorossi still dangerous in the 56th minute: Cristante heads but doesn’t find the opposite corner. In the 62nd minute De Rossi changes Karsdorp, booed by the crowd, and brings on Angelino, but the Germans’ pace seems superior to the Giallorossi.
The match gets nervous towards the end with several yellow cards, especially after Leverkusen’s second goal in the 73rd minute: Frimpong passes the ball to Stanisic who touches it to Andrich who finds a right-footed shot that goes under the top corner for the 0-2. De Rossi introduces Azmoun and Baldanzi for the final minutes with Roma raising their heads and coming close to scoring with the Iranian who shoots weakly in front of the goalkeeper triggered by Pellegrini. Abraham also enters at the end and manages to devour the 1-2 goal in the 94th minute by sending a header from two steps over the crossbar.