Roma heartbreak: Feyenoord knocked out in overtime, Giallorossi ahead
Europa League, Roma-Feyenoord 4-1 dts
Two Italian teams will play in the semifinals of the 2022/23 Europa League: in fact, after Juventus’ qualification came that of Roma, which was able to overturn the 0-1 first leg against Feyenoord only after extra time, winning 4-1 at the Stadio Olimpico in a match that was much more painful than the three-goal gap on the scoreboard tells.
After a nervous first half (Mourinho’s deputy Foti was sent off in the 33rd minute for contact with Gimenez on the sidelines), the Giallorossi upped the tempo in the second half and went ahead in the 60th minute through Spinazzola, whose deflected shot from Jahanbakhsh sailed past Bijlow. In the 80th minute, however, the cold shower: Igor Paixao beat Rui Patricio with a precise header, and Feyenoord moved back ahead in the double-header.
When all seems lost, however, Paulo Dybala takes care of retaking the match: it is the 89th minute, in fact, when ‘La Joya’ scores the 2-1, taking the match to extra time. The blow to morale is heavy, Feyenoord goes off and Roma takes advantage: El Shaarawy scores in the 101′ on an assist from Abraham at the end of a quick restart, Pellegrini closes the score in the 110′ again on a decisive pass from the English striker.
In the last minutes Roma managed, the Rotterdam red-and-whites got nervous and Gimenez was sent off for a bad intervention on Mancini in the midst of the recovery, just seconds before the triple whistle that made the Olimpico explode. Giallorossi therefore into the semifinals, where awaiting them will be Bayer Leverkusen (4-1 at home to Royale Union Saint-Gilloise after the 1-1 first leg).
