LEVERKUSEN, Germany — AS Roma earned a 0-0 draw at Bayer Leverkusen in their UEFA Europa League semi-final return-leg to reach the final with a 1-0 aggregate win.
The Rome side has now reached back-to-back European finals under coach Jose Mourinho following last season’s Europa Conference League title.
The visitors were on the backfoot for the entire game and had to survive intense pressure from the Germans, who missed a lot of chances and also hit the woodwork, as they advanced thanks to last week’s 1-0 win in Italy.
They will play the winners of the other semi-final between Sevilla and Juventus in the final on May 31 in Budapest.
West Ham, who won the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1965 and finished runners-up in the same competition in 1976, put up a dogged showing despite looking tired and spending much of the same time chasing their hosts.
The Italian club started well as skipper Lorenzo Pellegrini fizzed his shot wide inside the opening minute. Roared on by the fierce BayArena atmosphere, the hosts eased into the occasion and assumed control for the half.
A lethal 13th minute counterattack saw the fleet footed Diaby crack a thunderous effort off the crossbar. Soon after Demirbay stung the palms of Rui Patricio with a long-range strike as Bayer looked to turn the screw.
The loss of Euro 2020 winner Spinazzola to injury came as a blow to the Roman outfit. While Leverkusen’s offensive output started to wane, Azmoun and Demirbay both managed to fire additional strikes down the throat of the busy Portuguese shot stopper.
Elsewhere, substitute Pablo Formals scored a breakaway goal in stoppage time as West Ham United secured a 1-0 win at AZ Alkmaar and a place in the Europa Conference League final after a 3-1 aggregate triumph.
Mourinho opted to withdraw Belotti for Wijnaldum upon the second-half resumption. Roma by default set up slightly more defensively with Pellegrini marginally further forward to support Abraham.
Despite failing to trouble Rui Patricio with his earlier attempts, Demirbay drew the best out of the Roma keeper after the hour mark. The midfielder’s rasping strike seemed destined for the bottom right corner but for the fine save.
The final is in Prague on June 7 against either FC Basel or Fiorentina.
In another development, Leeds United centre-back Diego Llorente will reportedly not be joining AS Roma on a permanent deal this summer, with Jose Mourinho’s side sourcing a different signing instead.
Leeds’ January business not only saw the side bring in three key names to strengthen the side for the relegation run-in, but they also sanctioned a handful of loan moves too.
Diego Llorente was one of those, as he moved to AS Roma for the remainder of the season to link up with his former Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho.
A slow start for the centre-back saw him manage just one minute in the first six league games he was at the club, before a positive run in April brought three wins and three clean sheets, as the Spaniard impressed too.
Injury setbacks have been the story of his career recently and they have crept back in lately, as he hasn’t featured in the last four Serie A outings.
Corriere dello Sport is now claiming that the defender will not be joining Roma on a permanent deal in the summer window, with the option-to-buy standing at €18million.
Mourinho’s side is not willing to pay what Leeds are “demanding”, and have instead turned their attention to the Bundesliga and Eintracht Frankfurt’s Evan N’Dicka.
The Frenchman is out of contract in the summer and the report details that Roma are close to reaching an agreement to bring him to the Stadio OIimpico.
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