In the final on May 31 in Budapest, Roma will face Sevilla FC, who defeated Juventus Turin on Thursday night, after extra time (2-1).

The Romans had won the first leg 1-0 on a goal by the child of the Giallorosso club, Edoardo Bove, and resisted the pressing of Xabi Alonso's men, being very solid to snatch the draw (0-0), with a five-man defense, reinforced by the Serbian midfielder Nemanja Matic.

The exit on injury at the end of the first half of Leonardo Spinazzola (34th), replaced by Nicola Zalewski, did not disturb the Roman defensive edifice.

A serenity that was also felt on the side of the coaches' benches, the calm of "Mou", contrasting with the agitation of Xabi Alonso in his area along the touchline where we saw the Basque gesticulating in vain for his players to find the flaw in the defensive block well in place of AS Roma.

"We missed a bit of luck. But I'm proud of the guys and the club. The Romans are very experienced with a very experienced coach. In the end they made it very naughty, "regretted Kerem Demirbay after the meeting at the microphone of the broadcaster RTL.

Bayer Leverkusen winger Moussa Diaby has tried everything, but it is Roma who qualify for the C3 final, May 18, 2023 © INA FASSBENDER / AFP

The first half thus resembled a siege of Portuguese goalkeeper Rui Patricio, much more involved than in the first leg in Italy. The first big warning on his goal came from a strike from French international Moussa Diaby, who found the crossbar (12th).

Seventh European final for Mourinho

On several occasions, on attempts by Kerem Demirbay (8th, 21st, 27th) or Sardar Azmoun (29th, 36th), starting at the forefront of Bayer's attack, Rui Patricio was called upon but on strikes without much danger.

Even the rare possibilities for counter-attacks were hampered by the Romans, who had done the hardest last week at home.

In the second half, Leverkusen continued their dominance with another strike from distance from Demirbay, which forced Rui Patricio to relax to avoid the opening score for the Rhinelanders.

In the last ten minutes, the 30,210 spectators at the BayArena believed Azmoun had opened the scoring, but the Iranian's recovery from the penalty spot narrowly missed the frame.

At 60, it will be Mourinho's seventh European final of his career on May 31 in Budapest, plus three lost European Super Cup finals.

AS Roma coach Jose Mourinho in Leverkusen, May 18, 2023 © INA FASSBENDER / AFP

Admittedly, it will not have the prestige of the Champions League titles with Porto in 2004 and Inter in 2010 (plus a lost final with Chelsea in 2008), but it could allow it to return to C1 next season in case of triumph.

The route via the championship seems more complicated with six points behind 4th place three days from the end of the season.

© 2023 AFP