Roma into Europa League final
In their journey to the final, Roma failed to score in four games and kept six clean sheets out of 14 - both league bests. Roma reached the final of the European Cup in both seasons under Mourinho, equaling the previous achievement in history (European Cup 1983-1984 and UEFA Cup 1990-1991). They will meet Sevilla - the team that defeated Juventus with a total score of 3-2 in the remaining semi-finals - in the title match at Puskas Stadium, Budapest, Hungary on the evening of May 31.
Mourinho will have a sixth time in the European Cup final, with a record of winning all five previous matches. He won the UEFA Cup (the predecessor of the Europa League) in 2003 and the 2004 Champions League with Porto, helping Inter to win the 2010 Champions League, bringing Man Utd to the top of the Europa League in 2017 and with Roma winning the first Europa Conference League in history. history of the previous season.
"My concern is not to make a mark in Roma's history," Mourinho said after the game. "The important thing is to help the players grow, to achieve great things. It also helps the Roma fans to enjoy, they have given me so much since day one. It is a great happiness. in another final."
The 60-year-old coach praised the team for their dedication, experience, tactical wisdom and knowing how to stand up to pressure. Mourinho suggested that Roma might not have made it to the final if Chris Smalling hadn't returned to the bench in time, as Leonardo Spinazzola and Zeki Celik had problems during the match, and thanked Roma fans for their great support throughout the journey. from the beginning of the tournament.
Yesterday, Roma continued to face an injury storm when Marash Kumbulla, Rick Karsdorp were absent, while Paulo Dybala, Chris Smalling, Georginio Wijnaldum and Stephan El Shaarawy were only in reserve condition. In which, only Wijnaldum and Smalling entered the field in the second half. On the opposite side, Leverkusen was empty of Robert Andrich, Odilon Kossounou and Patrik Schick.
With the advantage of leading a goal thanks to the 20-year-old Edoardo Bove in the first leg, Roma displayed Mourinho's characteristic pragmatic play when traveling to Germany. At BayArena, the Rome club only controlled the ball 28% and finished once - the situation Tammy Abraham made a wall for Lorenzo Pellegrini to finish from outside the penalty area to deviate from the post in the 2nd minute.
More than 90 minutes remaining, including injury time, the ball only rolled in the Roma half when Leverkusen finished 23 shots with six on target. The most dangerous situation in the first half came in the 12th minute, when Moussa Diaby rushed to eliminate Roger Ibanez and then hit the bar. Then, in turn, Kerem Demirbay, Sardar Azmoun bombarded the visitors' goal, but they could not win against Rui Patricio.
The same scenario played out in the second half, when Roma's defense forced Leverkusen to look for opportunities from long shots. The home side came close to the goal in the 81st minute, with Azmoun's close-to-the-post kick.
Leonardo Spinazzola, Zeki Celik joined the injury list and Pellegrini limped into the final eight minutes of stoppage time under suffocating pressure, but Roma stood firm to reach a second consecutive European Cup final.
Squad:
Leverkusen: Hradecky, Tah (Amiri 86), Hincapie, Tapsoba, Palacios (Hlozek 80), Demirbay, Bakker (Adli 73), Frimpong, Azmoun, Wirtz, Diaby.
Roma: Patricio, Cristante, Ibanez, Mancini, Pellegrini, Bove, Matic, Spinazzola (Zalewski 34), Celik (Smalling 78), Abraham, Belotti (Wijnaldum 46).
