AS Roma take on the visitors Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of UEFA Europa League semifinals. The match will be played on Thursday, April 2nd at Stadio Olimpico (Rome).
Roma returned Mourinho to Italian football with a clear, albeit challenging, task. Mourinho was expected to lead the Roman club back to the Champions League. He brought his new team their first ever European trophy by winning the Conference League. He was very close to achieving the task by bypassing it, as he did with Manchester United, winning the Europa League - but Sevilla was luckier in the final penalty shootout. In the end, The Special One was fired, barely making it to winter, amidst situations where the Giallorossi were eliminated from the cup and looked mediocre in Serie A. But De Rossi, who was originally appointed as a temporary manager until summer, managed to squeeze almost the maximum possible out of the Serie A schedule, sending his charges to fight for 4th place with Bologna in the final stretch. And in the Europa League, after a tense win over the familiar Feyenoord (via penalty shootout after a couple of draws 1-1), the Italians surprised twice: they crushed Brighton at home and dealt with Milan, defeating them twice.
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Bayer will try to prepare for the match. The Aspirin team members are probably the happiest people involved in football on Earth right now. Only by winning the first championship title in years, even decades, filled with setbacks and sometimes very painful failures, can one experience something similar. Of course, there are other motivations, but they are not as acute as the rise of the debut silver salad bowl. Although Habi Alonso will try to finish without defeats and win titles in addition to the championship. Only Kaiserslautern separates them from the cup in the final. And in the Europa League, after nervously overcoming the barrier represented by Karabakh (in both matches, the Azerbaijanis led 2-0, but in the end settled for a draw in Baku, and lost in Leverkusen in regular time), the Germans comfortably dealt with West Ham. And even after the home 2-0, they managed to extend their unbeaten run in London, equalizing in the 89th minute.
The clubs first crossed paths in 2004 in the Champions League, and then the German representative was stronger: a win and a draw. 11 years later, the Italians took revenge: 3-2 and 4-4. And in last year's Europa League semi-final, everything was much more modest: Bove brought the hosts a minimal victory in Rome, and there were no goals at the BayArena. The Germans are very much believed in - they are clear favorites even away. But they underestimate the Giallorossi, as they are quite capable of not losing at home.
Prediction for the match: AS Roma not to lose (1X).
