In front of a boisterous Stadio Olimpico on Thursday, AS Roma defeated AC Milan 2-1 to clinch a 3-1 overall victory and set up a Europa League semifinal matchup with Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen.
In the second leg of the quarterfinal, Roma’s captain Gianluca Mancini gave them another early lead in the 12th minute, scoring on a rebound from close range.
A week earlier, Mancini’s header in the 17th minute had helped Roma defeat Milan 1-0 at the San Siro.
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Five minutes from time, Milan’s lead was cut to one when Matteo Gabbia nodded in a cross from forward Rafael Leao. Ten minutes later, Paulo Dybala doubled the lead for the home team.
Roma, the runners-up from the previous season, who were defeated by Sevilla on penalties following a 1-1 draw in the championship game, have reached their fourth consecutive European semifinal.
The freshly crowned Bundesliga champions Leverkusen, who defeated West Ham United, will be their next opponent.
Roma got off to a strong start, with captain Lorenzo Pellegrini hitting the crossbar with a shot from outside the area before Mancini scored the first goal off a rebound.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek of Milan came within a whisker of levelling things when he struck the crossbar minutes later, but Dybala’s goal shortly after put an end to the visitors’ greatest nightmare.
Romelu Lukaku, the striker, rushed to regain the ball on the right side.
The Milan defence cleared his pass towards goal, but it ended at the feet of Dybala, who slotted home with ease.
However, Roma lost Lukaku to an injury in the 28th minute, and in the 31st, Zeki Celik, the defender, was sent out for a challenge on Leao, leaving them with just 10 men.
Due to this, both coaches made tactical substitutions before halftime. Daniele De Rossi substituted Diego Llorente for Milan’s Ismael Bennacer, a midfielder, and Stefano Pioli started Luka Jovic in place of Dybala to strengthen Roma’s defensive.
After the break, Milan controlled the ball better and their attacks gained momentum.
However, Leonardo Spinazzola’s solo run and poor effort were stopped by goalie Mike Maignan, giving Roma a 3-0 lead.
Mile Svilar, the Roma goalie, then stopped a low shot from Jovic near the penalty spot.
Gabbia’s late goal gave Pioli’s team little hope as they had lost their last three games in all competitions.
Roma has only won three of the previous fifteen games against Milan; the other two were a 2-1 home victory in Serie A in October 2019 and the victory in the first leg last week.
May 2 is when the first leg of the semifinals will take place, with the second leg happening a week later.
The final will take place at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on May 22.