Roma into the eighth round of the Europa League

In the first leg at the Red Bull Arena last week, Roma squandered many opportunities, in which Tammy Abraham had three unsuccessful attempts in the penalty area, then collapsed by a goal in the 88th minute.

Returning to the Olimpico yesterday, Roma took advantage of the better opportunity to decide the match in the first half. In the 33rd minute, Leonardo Spinazzola crossed to the left and then crossed into the penalty area to let Andrea Belotti head to break the deadlock. Belotti scored the third goal in the Europa League this season, the achievement is only behind one Italian player in the European arena in the 2022-2023 season, Giacomo Raspadori with four goals for Napoli.

40 minutes, Roma fixed the score according to the same scenario. Spinazzola sped up on the left and then put the ball in for Paulo Dybala to put the left foot in a corner, causing goalkeeper Philipp Kohn to stop. The Argentine striker scored his 12th goal in all competitions and his third in the Europa League this season.

After the match, Mourinho praised the players, assistants and staff for their dedication to getting Roma ready for the game. "A great Roma has won an important result, showing an all-round performance on all levels," said the Portuguese coach. "This is a collective, a unified block with solidarity, empathy and I like that. This is a victory against a very good representative who dropped from the Champions League."

Roma's opponents in the 1/8 round of the Europa League will be the top clubs in the group stage. They can meet Arsenal or Real Betis - the club in the same group this season. Mourinho's teachers and students can also meet Feyenoord to recreate last season's Conference League final - where Roma won 1-0 thanks to Nicolo Zaniolo, the player who moved to Galatasaray.

"Italian football is doing well," said Mourinho. "Fiorentina, Lazio, Juventus, Roma all continue in the European Cup. Inter, Napoli and Milan have the advantage after the first leg of the 1/8 Champions League round. It's great."

The draw for the Europa League round of 16 will take place today with the first and second legs taking place on March 9 and 16.

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