Stephan El Shaarawy and Lorenzo Pellegrini scored in extra time as Roma battled into the UEFA Europa League last four after a 4-1 win over Feyenoord secured a 4-2 aggregate victory.
Leonardo Spinazzola’s second-half goal on Thursday cancelled out Mats Wieffer’s first-leg winner, only for Igor Paixao’s header to put Feyenoord on the brink of the semi-finals with 10 minutes remaining.
Yet Paulo Dybala levelled the tie in the 89th minute with a sharp turn and finish to set the stage for an extra-time period Roma dominated to set up a two-legged meeting with Bayer Leverkusen in the semis.
El Shaarawy prodded Tammy Abraham’s low cross past Justin Bijlow to edge the Giallorossi ahead, before Pellegrini – who hit the post when the game was still goalless – lashed home a clinching goal awarded after a VAR review overturned an original offside decision.
That was the end of the scoring, but the VAR was involved again before the final whistle.
Anthony Taylor was sent to the touchline monitor and subsequently dismissed Santiago Gimenez for a rash lunge on Gianluca Mancini, with Feyenoord exiting the competition in frustrating fashion.
Roma (5-4-1):
Rui Patricio -7
Pulled off several decent saves in the first half to keep Roma in the game. Powerless to stop Feyenoord from restoring parity.
Chris Smalling – 7
Another rock-solid defensive performance from the 33-year-old as he plugged all holes in front of Patricio’s goal.
Diego Llorente – 5.5
Had some shaky moments, especially in possession, and was almost guilty of giving away a cheap penalty in the first half. Gradually improved as the match progressed.
Gianluca Mancini – 6.5
Virtually unplayable in the air, the Italian made light work of Santiago Gimenez, one of the most in-demand young strikers. Won almost every aerial ball coming his way.
Nicola Zalewski – 4
After a relatively quiet first-half showing, displayed glimpses of his attacking potential in the second period. Not one of his best nights, even though one of his crosses almost led to Roma’s opener a minute into the second half.
Leonardo Spinazzola – 6.5
Despite enjoying plenty of the ball on the left-hand side, failed to influence the game, as his crossing let him down time after time. Spurned too many one-on-ones against Lutsharel Geertruida but redeemed himself with a much-needed deadlock-breaker.
Bryan Cristante – 6
Did all the dirty work in the middle of the park but struggled to make his presence visible in the attacking third.
Lorenzo Pellegrini – 7
Amends for a wasted penalty in the first leg were on the cards, but the captain couldn’t gain a foothold in the match all night long. Neither set-piece delivery found its mark. But redeemed himself with a tie-defining goal in extra time.
Nemanja Matic – 7
Calm and composed in possession, providing stability to the Roma midfield with his experience and almost-perfect decision-making.
Georginio Wijnaldum – N/A
Cannot catch a break this season. Less than two weeks since returning to the fold from a lengthy spell on the sidelines, picked up another injury scare midway through the first half.
Andrea Belotti – 3
Handed another chance to shine in the absence of Abraham and was as useless as he was the entire season. May have given Roma more reason to ditch him at the end of the season.
Substitutes
Stephan El Shaarawy – 6.5
Slotted in for Wijnaldum but couldn’t find his feet. One wayward touch after another summed up a disappointing regulation time for the Italian winger. However, scored a crucial extra-time tap-in to justify Mourinho’s trust.
Roger Ibanez -7
Made the Roma defense look smooth after coming on.
Tammy Abraham – 7
Delivered a key assist to El Shaarawy and deserves the credit for Pellegrini’s goal.
Paulo Dybala – 8
Off the bench and on the scoresheet with one of the best goals you’ll see in this season’s Europa League. By far the best player on the pitch tonight. Absolute world class!
Zeki Celik – 6
Never stopped running but had nothing to show for it.
Marash Kumbulla – N/A
