The UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League got underway as the first matchday of the group stage took place. Roma and Lazio were involved in the former, Fiorentina the latter. Here is a review as to what went down in the three matches.
Roma Collapse in Europa League Opener
Jose Mourinho’s Roma failed to get their Europa League adventure on the right foot. The defending Europa Conference League winners stumbled in Bulgaria to Ludogorets. Just when it looked like Eldor Shomurodov’s leveler 86th minute would be enough to steal a point, the Bulgarian champions went back in front less than two minutes later to claim the 2-1 win.
The Giallorossi registered 19 attempts on goal across the 90 minutes, five on target. In the end, they were not able to come away with anything from their trip to Razgrad.
Lazio Impress Topping Feyenoord at the Olimpico
City rivals Lazio dazzled to a 4-2 success at home to Feyenoord, the team Roma beat in the Conference League final in May. Matias Vecino got a brace for Maurizio Sarri’s men as the hosts stormed a 3-0 lead inside 30 minutes.
The Dutch giants did not go away without a fight though, getting two goals for themselves in an effort to snatch a point. The Rotterdam-based club did register 16 efforts on goal throughout the 90, showing they were never out of the game.
Fiorentina Frustrated at Home
La Viola‘s return to Europe was not the best in their 1-1 stalemate with Latvian side Rigas FS. Despite amassing 30 shots, Antonin Barak’s goal was wiped out by Andrej Ilić’s 15 minutes before time.
The match marked Fiorentina’s first European game since the 2016-17 season where they fell to Borussia Monchengladbach in the Europa League. RFS had never played a European group match before Thursday.
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