On the morning of May 19, Roma drew 0-0 with Leverkusen in the second leg of the semi-finals, thereby entering the Europa League final with a total score of 1-0 after 2 matches.
After winning the first leg 1-0, Roma brought to the Bay Arena a style of play that was typical of Jose Mourinho. The Serie A representative did not care about the attacking front and used their numbers to cover all the gaps in front of the goal.
Leverkusen were given the upper hand and had superior statistics. The Bundesliga club had 60% possession and 23 shots. However, Rui Patricio stood firm to block all 6 shots on target from the home team. The only time the Portuguese goalkeeper was defeated, the ball hit the crossbar.
The home team player looked helpless.
Not only Patricio, veteran Nemanja Matic also had an excellent day. He became a solid shield in front of the defense with 12 duels won, 6 successful tackles, 3 shot blocks and a 100% success rate.
Leverkusen did everything they could but could not make a difference against Roma's stubborn defense. The Serie A representative spent the entire match defending and did not create even a single significant attacking opportunity. In the final minutes, Roma also frustrated their opponents by lying on the field to waste time.
The match at the Bay Arena ended with a final score of 23-1 in favor of Leverkusen. However, the ticket to the final belonged to Roma.
The Giallorossi will arrive in Budapest on June 1 and are looking to win their second consecutive European Cup, having won the Europa Conference League last season. The opponent Mourinho and his team need to overcome is Sevilla - the club known as the "King of the Europa League".
According to Zing
Source
Comment (0)