Roma roared into the UEFA Europa League semi-finals with a 2-1 win against Serie A rivals AC Milan in the Eternal City after an eventful clash where the hosts scored twice and had a man sent off before half-time.
2023/2024 UEFA Europa League
2 (3)-1 (1)
A week on from his match-winning goal in the first leg, centre-back Gianluca Mancini was again the unlikely goalscoring hero as he tapped in the opener inside 12 minutes, before Paulo Dybala doubled the hosts’ lead with a sumptuous curling finish.
Daniele De Rossi, who signed a contract extension to remain Roma coach next season earlier on Thursday, looked on course for a dream day, only for a rash Zeki Celik challenge on Rafael Leao to leave his side down to 10 men with an hour still to play.
However, for all their possession and attacking territory, Milan struggled to break down a resilient Roma defence, coming closest when Ruben Loftus-Cheek rattled the bar while the numbers were still even, until a late Matteo Gabbia header proved to be a consolation.
Next up for the Giallorossi is a semi-final clash with newly-crowned Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen in a repeat of last season’s competition – when the Italians won 1-0 on aggregate.
Line-ups
Roma XI: El Shaarawy, Smalling, Lukaku, Paredes, Spinazzola, Dybala, Zeki Çelik, Pellegrini, Mile Svilar, G. Mancini, Edoardo Bove
Subs: Patricio, S. Azmoun, D.Llorente, R.Sanches, Angelino, Karsdorp, Abraham, Aouar, Nicola Zalewski, Tommaso Baldanzi, Pietro Boer, João Costa
Milan XI: Giroud, Maignan, Loftus-Cheek, Calabria, Tomori, Bennacer, Theo, Pulisic, Gabbia, Leao, Yunus Musah
Subs: Florenzi, Sportiello, Jovic, Samuel Chukwueze, Yacine Adli, Noah Okafor, Tijjani Reijnders, Malick Thiaw, Filippo Terracciano, Lapo Nava, Davide Bartesaghi, Kevin Zeroli