ROMA are into the last-four of the Europa League after Edin Djeko fired in a second half equaliser to see off Ajax.
Follow ALL the reaction with our live blog below…
FREE BETS: GET OVER £2,000 IN SIGN UP OFFERS HERE
THAT’S ALL FROM ROME
Roma went through to the Europa League semi-finals after drawing 1-1 with Ajax at the Olimpico.
The Giallorossi thought they put the tie to bed early on when Jordan Veretout picked up a through-ball by Edin Dzeko and hit the target, but the midfielder was caught offside.
Ajax dominated throughout the encounter and opened the scoring with Brian Brobbey, who beat Pau Lopez with a flick after a wonderful cross by Perr Schuurs on 49 minutes.
The Dutch giants thought they punched their ticket to the final four when Dusan Tadic sent the ball to the back of the net soon after but the referee checked with VAR and found that Nicolas Tagliafico had fouled Henrikh Mkhitaryan during the build-up.
Roma ended Ajax’s hopes after 72 minutes when Riccardo Calafiori set Dzeko up for the equaliser.
The Serie A giants are now set to take on Manchester United in the next round.
That’s all from us here at SunSport, have a lovely night!
GETTY IMAGES FONSECA REACTS
Roma manager Paulo Fonseca is thrilled with his team’s qualification and even addressed reports regarding his future at the club.
Fonseca told Sky Sport Italia: “I’ve never reached a semi-final before, so this makes me very proud, especially as we are representing Italy right now. It’s a source of pride for Roma and we are all very happy.
“It doesn’t change anything. I don’t know if I will be the Roma coach next season, just that I will be the coach for the next game.
“As I’ve always said, I am not remotely concerned with the future. All that matters now is Roma. The club owners have always been very close to us all and we feel their presence”
GETTY IMAGES
PELLEGRINI REACTS
Roma captain Lorenzo Pellegrini is pleased with the result but insists they can’t become complacent ahead of the Europa League semi-finals against Manchester United.
Pellegrini said: “We knew that Ajax were a great team, but we proved that the growth process we’re on is continuing.
“We are happy, but it’s important to keep our euphoria contained, because there’s a semi-final to play. This means so much because we are trying to become great, to build ourselves up and that is the motivation in every match.
“We started well and created the first real chance, I slipped and couldn’t put enough power on the ball. This team knows how to face up to difficult moments and I want to give such a big round of applause to my team-mates.
“If we want to achieve something great, we have to beat the best. We’ll enjoy this evening, but from tomorrow start focusing on the next test”
GETTY IMAGES ROMAN EMPIRE
It took them a while, but Roma are back in the semi-finals of a major European competition.
The Giallorossi haven’t made it to a final-four round since the 2017-2018 season after they eliminated Barcelona from the Champions League Round of 16.
The last time before that took place way back in 1991.
More info below:
DZEK IT OUT
Roma star Edin Dzeko has reached another major milestone in his successful career.
Dzeko’s goal against Ajax marked his 30th across both the Champions League and Europa League for the Giallorossi.
The ex-Manchester City star has joined an esteemed group of players who have netted at least 30 goals for a single Italian team across all UEFA competitions.
That group includes Alessandro Del Piero, Filippo Inzaghi and Andriy Shevchenko
MAN UTD SHOWDOWN
Roma’s 1-1 draw with Ajax means the Giallorossi are through to the Europa League semi-finals thanks to their 2-1 win in Amsterdam last week.
The Serie A giants are now set to lock horns with Manchester United in the competition’s final four.
United qualified after beating Granada 2-0 at Old Trafford tonight thanks to a goal by Edinson Cavani and an own goal by Jesus Vallejo.
Combined with last week’s victory in Spain, the Red Devils are through with a score of 4-0 on aggregate
GETTY IMAGES STATS
Ajax dominated 71.7 per cent of possession throughout the encounter and still got eliminated.
The Eredivisie leaders registered a whopping total of 10 shots, but only three of them were on target.
Roma, on the other hand, recorded seven shots, three of which were on target.
The Giallorossi topped the disciplinary records as they amassed five yellow cards, compared to Ajax’s two
FT: ROMA 1-1 AJAX
Roma qualified for the Europa League semi-finals with a score of 3-2 on aggregate.
The Giallorossi thought they put the tie to bed early on into the match with Jordan Veretout’s goal but the midfielder was caught offside.
Ajax dominated possession throughout the entire encounter and opened the scoring with Brian Brobbey when the striker picked up a wonderful cross by Perr Schurrs and beat Pau Lopez with a beautiful flick on 49 minutes.
The Eredivisie leaders thought they got what they needed soon after when Dusan Tadic hit the back of the net but the referee checked with VAR and found that Henrikh Mkhitaryan was fouled by Nicolas Tagliafico in the build-up.
Ajax thought they were on course for a comeback but Roma ended their hopes after 72 minutes when Riccardo Calafiori set up Edin Dzeko for the equaliser
GETTY IMAGES
PEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!
AND THAT’S FULL-TIME IN ROME!!!!!!!!
ROMA 1-1 AJAX
90+5 CHANCE
Ajax are desperately looking for a second goal and Kudus fires a long-range shot that completely misses the target.
That was a very poor effort
ROMA 1-1 AJAX
90+2 YELLOW CARD
Martinez gets booked foe a push on Borja
ROMA 1-1 AJAX
90 Five more minutes of added time to go.
Time is seriously running out for Ajax and Roma can’t afford to get complacent
ROMA 1-1 AJAX
89 YELLOW CARD
Tagliafico becomes the first Ajax star to be booked for a devastating tackle on Mancini.
Roma are complaining tot he referee for not giving the advantage as they were creating a major goalscoring opportunity
ROMA 1-1 AJAX
87 SUBSTITUTION
Roma manager Fonseca makes another change as Mkhitaryan is replaced by ex-Chelsea star Pedro
ROMA 1-1 AJAX
86 YELLOW CARD
Yet another booking for a Roma player as Cristante is penalised for a rough tackle on Klaassen
ROMA 1-1 AJAX
84 Also, to confirm, Roma made a substitution two minutes ago as Villar took Calafiori’s place.
Ajax are in desperate need for a goal
ROMA 1-1 AJAX
83 SUBSTITUTION
A last throw of the dice from Ajax manager Ten Hag, who brings on Traore and Idrissi, who replace Neres and Shuurs respectively.
Reminding that Schuurs replaced Klaiber in the first half
ROMA 1-1 AJAX
80 SUBSTITUTION
Roma manager Fonseca introduces the Europa League’s joint-top scorer Borja, who takes Dzeko’s place
ROMA 1-1 AJAX
78 YELLOW CARD
Dzeko gets booked for accidentally stepping on Martinez
ROMA 1-1 AJAX
76 Calafiori gets back up and shows that he can continue.
Some dramatic last few minutes left in the match
ROMA 1-1 AJAX
76 Calafiori, the man who set up Dzeko’s equaliser, is down on the ground with what looks like a hamstring injury.
If the youngster can’t continue then Fonseca will be out of options as he is missing Spinazzola and Peres
ROMA 1-1 AJAX
75 As it stands now, Ajax need one more goal to take the game to extra time.
If nothing changes then Roma are obviously going through to the semi-finals
GETTY IMAGES ROMA 1-1 AJAX
72 Ajax really let themselves down there…
Mkhitaryan switches to Calafiori down the left flank and the youngster takes advantage of Timber’s slip to deliver a cross that gets a deflection.
The ball reaches Dzeko, who is barely marked, and the ex-Manchester City star beats Stekelenburg to make it 1-1
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
