The last bastion of Italian presence in Europe this season continues to hold as Roma came from behind on Thursday night to snatch a precious 1-2 away win to Ajax that put them closer to the Europa League Semi Finals.
Paulo Fonseca’s squad built the comeback thanks to two of the most criticized men in their roster – goalkeeper Pau Lopez and defender Roger Ibanez, who both had a season well below expectations until tonight.
With the Giallorossi trailing by one after Davy Klaassen had opened the scoring, the Spanish shot-stopper denied Dusan Tadic from the spot and kept his side afloat with at least three more decisive saves.
The Brazilian center-back, despite causing the penalty with a naive foul on Tadic, put his stamp on Roma’s winner with an absolute screamer on 87 minutes. Before his exploit, Lorenzo Pellegrini had equalized for the Giallorossi taking advantage of a colossal blunder from Ajax’s backup goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen.
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Here is our starting XI for tonight! ?
#ASRoma #UEL #AjaxRoma pic.twitter.com/sDwwXFkDaK— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) April 8, 2021
For the battle at the Johann Cruijff ArenA, Paulo Fonseca resorted to his usual 3-4-2-1 setup with Jordan Veretout and Amadou Diawara in the middle of the park and an offensive setup made of Lorenzo Pellegrini and Pedro supporting Edin Dzeko.
Ajax’s coach Erik Ten Hag couldn’t count on his starting goalkeeper André Onana and deployed 21-year-old, 204 cm tall Kjell Scherpen in his place. That would prove to be a game decider as, despite a good start, the gigantic Dutch goalie ended up gift-wrapping Roma their equalizer.
But before Roma could come on level terms with the opposition, they had to fight hard to prevent the game from slipping out of their hands.
Ajax’s lead came from one of the many defensive mistakes seen in the Wolves’ defensive third this season: Amadou Diawara’s back pass for Gianluca Mancini was chancy enough but the former Atalanta man was slow to react and Klaaseen had enough time to play give and go with Tadic before firing the ball into the back of the net.
The Lancieri – as they are called in Italy – could even double their lead before half time but Pau Lopez somehow managed to stop Brazilian striker Antony.
A lot of football still to be played…
#ASRoma #UEL #AjaxRoma pic.twitter.com/ulB4r9uOXV— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) April 8, 2021
Pau Lopez did even better after the restart as Roma risked plummeting into despair when Roger Ibanez naively knocked down Dusan Tadic in the box. The Serbian stepped up to the spot and came up with a sloppy conclusion, but Lopez was clever enough not to move and pushed back his central shot.
And so, Roma gained courage and received a helping hand from luck, in the form of Scherpen’s howler. The goalkeeper seemed to have defused Lorenzo Pellegrini’s free kick challenge on 57 minutes but incredibly let the ball slip out of his hands.
The Giallorossi‘s troubles were not over, however, and it took at least two more brilliant saves from Pau Lopez to keep the score at 1-1 – a result that Roma seemed happy to come home with. But with just three minutes to go, Paulo Fonseca and his boys played their trump card as, from a Pellegrini corner kick, defender Roger Ibanez suddenly turned into a striker and whipped the ball home with a stunning left-foot conclusion.
Roma gained a major advantage in the double confrontation with the Dutch champions, but will need to keep their concentration high as the two sides meet again in one week at the Stadio Olimpico.
MATCH REPORT
March 18, 2021 – Europa League 2020-2021 Quarter Finals
AJAX-ROMA 1-2
SCORERS: 39′ Klaassen (A), 57′ Pellegrini (R), 87′ Ibanez (R)
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AJAX (4-3-3): Scherpen; Rensch (79′ Klaiber), Timber, Martinez, Tagliafico; Klaassen, Alvarez, Gravenberch; Antony (88′ Idrissi), Tadic, Neres (64′ Brobbey) (Reiziger, Ekkelenkamp, Kudus, Traoré, Taylor, Kotarski, Kasanwirjo, Timber) Coach: Ten Hag |
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ROMA (3-4-2-1): Pau Lopez; Mancini, Cristante, Ibanez; Bruno Peres, Veretout (76′ Villar), Diawara, Spinazzola (28′ Calafiori); Pellegrini, Pedro (89′ Carles Perez), Dzeko (76′ Borja Mayoral) (Mirante, Fuzato, Santon, Ciervo, Milanese) Coach: Fonseca |
REFEREE: Karasev (Russia)
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Rensch, Martinez (A), Cristante, Calafiori (R); Extra Time: 1st Half 2′, 2nd Half 4′