The four teams will rematch for the second legs of the semifinals in seven days.
The opening legs of the UEFA Europa League semifinals were played on Thursday,
making it a thrilling night of soccer in Europe. In the Stadio Olimpico, Bayer
Leverkusen triumphed 2-0 over AS Roma, while Atalanta drew 1-1 away at the
Velodrome in France with Olympique Marseille. The teams will reconvene in seven
days to play the second legs, which will select the 2023–24 finals.
AS Roma 0, Bayer
Leverkusen 2,
Thanks to goals from
Robert Andrich and Florian Wirtz, Bayer Leverkusen is still unbeaten and most
certainly guaranteed a berth in the Dublin final. Romelu Lukaku also struck the
crossbar in the first half of the match, so Roma attempted to fight back, but
it soon became clear how different the two teams were from one another. Due to
a mistake made by Rick Karsdorp, Wirtz scored the game's first goal,
significantly altering the outcome. It's hard to see how Bayer can miss out on
the opportunity to go to the championship game in the second leg.
Atlanta 1, Marseille 1.
Atalanta and OM drew 1-1 at the end of the match as the visitors scored the first goal through Gianluca Scamacca, who is currently the team's star player under coach Gian Piero Gasperini. A few minutes after Scamacca's goal, defender Chancel Mbemba of Olympique Marseille managed to equalize. However, Atalanta held on to the tie, and the outcome will be determined when La Dea hosts Jean-Louis Gasset's team in Bergamo next week.
The Day's Goal
Andrich of Bayer Leverkusen scored the game's winning goal as the 2023–24
Bundesliga champions defeated AS Roma 2-0 in Rome. In the first leg of the
semifinals, Andrich scored a stunning goal outside the box with assistance from
Josip Stanisic, thus ending the Giallorossi's hopes of a comeback. Andrich has
already scored five goals in 40 outings with Leverkusen this season across all
competitions.
Who is the player of the
day, if not him? After a tie in the first leg in France, Scamacca scored once
again, giving Atalanta a great opportunity to win the match in Italy.
With 16 goals in 37 appearances across all categories thus far, including six
in nine Europa League contests—including a brace against Liverpool in the first
leg of the quarterfinals at Anfield—the Italian striker is having a fantastic
season. With each passing game, his chances of starting for the Italian
national team in the UEFA 2024 Euro this summer are growing.
The Most Bizarre Moment
Tammy Abraham of AS Roma
had a great chance to score the game's winning goal in the last minutes against
Bayer Leverkusen, but his shot went wide even though he was in the greatest
position to score his first goal in Europe of the season. It was an error that
could not have changed the outcome. After making this error, it now
appears improbable that AS Roma will make it to a European final for the third
consecutive season, even if they may have more (albeit still few) opportunities
to recover in the second leg.
Next Up
In Germany, Bayer
Leverkusen will play AS Roma on May 9, while Atalanta will play OM in the
Bergamo Gewiss Stadium. Atalanta is now the favorite in their tie, so it looks
probable that Xabi Alonso's squad will go to the championship game, but it
won't be simple at all. The final between the two winners will take place in
Dublin on May 22.
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