Dybala helps Roma upstream to Europa League semi-finals
Roma are only about five minutes away from being eliminated from the European arena, before Dybala shines. In the 89th minute, captain Lorenzo Pellegrini turned on one touch for the Argentine striker to turn to catch the ball and cover it skillfully in the penalty area, before finishing the left foot diagonally to raise the score to 2-1.
This Dybala strike sent the game into extra time, as Roma lost 0-1 in the first leg at Feyenoord, and the away goals rule no longer applies in the Europa League. Dybala himself was injured in the defeat a week ago, but he returned to the reserve and replaced Nicola Zalewski from the 73rd minute.
In the first extra time, Roma continuously bombarded the away team's goal. In the 96th minute, Dybala cut his forte left foot outside the penalty area forcing goalkeeper Justin Bijlow to push the ball across the border. In the next corner, Roger Ibanez headed the post and Tammy Abraham could not succeed.
The difference came in the 101st minute, when Abraham drifted to the right and stretched for Stephan El Shaarawy to cushion a diagonal touch, making it 3-1. Roma finished the game at the start of the second extra time. Abraham shot from close range and failed to win against Bijlow, but Pellegrini hit the cobblestone and hit the away team's net. The line umpire raised the flag for offside, but VAR came in to confirm Roma's goal was valid.
Bitter because of the reverse, Santiago Gimenez kicked right into the knee of midfielder Gianluca Mancini in the 119th minute. After going to the touchline to review the video, referee Anthony Taylor showed a red card directly to the Feyenoord striker.
After the match, coach Jose Mourinho praised Roma for their outstanding performance and upstream to the semi-finals thanks to their focus, courage and intelligence. When asked about predicting the match was decided only in extra time, so only Dybala and Abraham came on after 70 minutes, the Portuguese coach jokingly replied: "No, now you know why my hair is white. That's it. The other coaches are bald, and I have white hair. I've played over 150 games in Europe, I've seen all the scenarios. This is not a match Roma can decide any time soon."
Overcoming Feyenoord, Roma will meet Leverkusen in the semi-finals. Mourinho declined to comment on the next round because he wanted to focus on Serie A. The Italian capital club fell to fourth after Juventus were returned 15 points, and will be a guest of Atalanta on April 24.
Meanwhile, Dybala asserted: "The whole team wants to win. Roma have a coach with an incredible mentality. Mourinho told us the game was going to be like that and he was absolutely right. This team has won. won the Europa Conference League last season, and they know what it takes to win. Now we want to win the Europa League."
At the Olimpico yesterday, Roma joined the jubilant and created many opportunities. In the 3rd minute, Pellegrini threatened the away team's goal with a shot that changed direction in the penalty area. A few minutes later, it was Bryan Cristante's turn to miss the opportunity with a kick to connect the column.
At the beginning of the second half, Roma took the lead thanks to luck. After a messy situation in the penalty area, Leonardo Spinazzola hit the Feyenoord player into the far corner, causing Bijlow to stay rooted. In the 76th minute, Abraham headed for a wall for Cristante to cross the corner to double the difference. But the goal was disallowed because Abraham fouled the opposing defender.
In the phase of the ball right after, Feyenoord equalized the score. From Sebastian Szymanski's cross on the right, substitute Igor Paixao's header hit Rui Patricio's feet. A 1-1 result would put Feyenoord into the semi-finals, but the Dutch representative could not keep the advantage until the end of official time.
Roma: Patricio, Smalling (Celik 78), Llorente (Ibanez 72), Mancini, Zalewski (Dybala 73), Cristante, Matic, Spinazzola, Wijnaldum (El Shaarawy 21 - Kumbulla 106), Pellegrini, Belotti (Abraham 72).
Feyenoord: Bijlow, Hartman (Marcos Lopez 106), Trauner (Dilrosun 106), Hancko, Geertruida, Kokcu, Wieffer, Szymanski (Pedersen 91), Idrissi (Paixao 64), Gimenez, Jahanbakhsh (Danilo 74).
