Roma expands the advantage of the first leg and reaches the quarter-finals in the Europa League. Few, very few problems for Fonseca’s team in the return match against Shakhtar Donetsk, which with the passing of the minutes becomes pure formality. Borja Mayoral signs his evening with a brace: ends 1-2 at the Olimpiyskiy in Kiev. Tomorrow the word goes to the urn of Nyon who will issue the couplings for the quarters.
Rome who enters the field knowing that they have to defend, not giving up on attacking. The first chance of the match is precisely for the Capitoline, with Mayoral kicking high from a favorable position. Possession is largely predictable in Shakhtar’s favor. However, the Ukrainians are struggling to verticalize as they usually do and rarely look dangerously on the part of Pau Lopez. The one who tries the most among the hosts is Alan Patrick, first on 13 ‘and then on 27’, but with two conclusions that do not worry the Spanish goalkeeper. Junior Moraes also tries to make himself dangerous, but his screw is extinguished with an oversized header in the 34th minute.
The discordant note for Roma is the problem that arose in Ibanez, not of a muscular nature, but following a head to head in which Kumbulla is also involved. Fonseca runs for cover at the end of the first half and takes over Ibanez to make way for Mancini. The recovery begins in the best way for the Giallorossi, cynical to find the advantage in the 48th minute: initiative by Karsdorp from the right, cross in the middle and – after a deviation – winning header by Borja Mayoral. Pedro has the chance to close it definitively, but he crosses his right too much in the 54th minute. At 59 ‘the hosts are released and on the development of a free kick draw with the tap-in of Junior Moraes. However, it is still Borja Mayoral who inflates the net for Roma in Europe: he does so by archiving the practice in the 72nd minute with a simple touch below on an assist from Carles Perez.