After leading Roma to triumph in the inaugural edition of the Europa Conference League last season, Jose Mourinho has taken the Italian side to another European final after the ‘Giallorossi’ edged Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 aggregate in two legs to reach the final of this year’s Europa League.
Edoardo Bove’s goal in the first leg in Rome gave the Italian side a 1-0 win in the first leg, and a goalless in the return leg in Germany on Thursday night ensured Roma secured a spot in Budapest’s final, where they will face the most successful club in the competition Sevilla with six titles.
On the same night, the La Liga side defeated Serie A giants Juventus 2-1 after extra time at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium to reach their seventh Europa League final with a 3-1 aggregate scoreline following a one-all draw in the first leg of the tie in Turin.
Dusan Vlahovic broke the deadlock for Juventus in the 65th minute. But Suso would score six minutes later to force the game into extra time – barely five minutes into the extra time, Erik Lamela headed home the ball to win the semi-final tie for Sevilla.
The final in Budapest, Hungary, slated for May 31 at the Puskás Aréna, is expected to be a tough one given the remarkable Sevilla and Jose Mourinho in European competitions – Sevilla has won all of their six previous Europa League finals.
Also, Mourinho has won all his five previous European finals, including the Champions League glory with FC Porto.
Meanwhile, in the third tier of UEFA interclub competitions, Premier League side West Ham United were on the road and defeated Eredivisie’s AZ Alkmaar 1-0 on Thursday and 3-1 on aggregate to reach the final of the Europa Conference League.
It was the Hammers’ first European final in almost five decades on the same night that David Moyes also became the first British manager to reach the final of a European competition since Alex Ferguson’s Champions League finals appearance against Barcelona in 2011.
West Ham will play Serie A side and one-time winner of the discontinued European Cup Winners’ Cup Fiorentina, who edged out Switzerland-based FC Basel 4-3 on aggregate, in the final holding on June 7 at the Fortuna Arena in Prague, Czechia.
