The first leg of the Europa League semifinals were played to a conclusion yesterday, with Roma earning an advantage over Bayer Leverkusen. Juventus and Sevilla, on the other hand, played out a 1-1 draw and will start level again when they meet next week.
Edoardo Bove scored the match-winning goal for Roma, scoring on the rebound after Lukas Hradecky parried a shot from Tammy Abraham. The Giallorossi did what they set out to do in front of a packed home crowd. Although Bayer Leverkusen were able to fashion many chances, and almost punished Rui Patricio for his errors, they were unable to find the back of the net.
Next week, the Conference League champions will go into the second leg with an advantage, knowing that a clean sheet will see them through.
Europa League 22/23 semi finals first leg review
Sevilla opened the scoring in Turin courtesy of Youssef En-Nesyri. The Moroccan has been in exceptional form since 2023, equalling Kylian Mbappe’s tally since the turn of the year. However, the record Europa League winners conceded in the dying stages of the game.
Federico Gatti scored from a corner in the last minute to level the tie and prevent their opponents from having the advantage. It will be a very difficult task to win at Sevilla next week, but Juventus will fancy their chances of taking the game to the La Liga side given the quality they have on display.
