Roma Advances to Europa League Round of 16 With Win Over Porto
Roma have advanced to Europa League Round Of 16 beating Porto 3-2 in the second leg and 4-3 aggregate. This is possibly their last chance to gain qualification for the UEFA Champions League 2025-2026 season. Roma talisman Paulo Dybala played a crucial role in Roma’s much-needed victory over Porto. The new format of the UEFA Europa League has provided some exciting fixtures and Roma vs Porto was definitely one of them.
Roma vs Porto Match Report
The match between Roma and Porto began on the front foot for the hosts. Roma players Lorenzo Pellegrini and Elder Shomurodov both had early attempts that went off-target. Despite Roma dominating the beginning of the match it was Porto that scored the first goal. Mile Svilar misplaced a pass which was intended for Leandro Paredes which then led to Samu Omorodion scoring an acrobatic goal from ten yards out.
Roma did not take much time to respond and scored the equalizer within eight minutes. Dybala played a quick one-two with Shomurodov after which Dybala dinked the ball past the goalkeeper with his signature left foot. Roma and Dybala did not stop attacking and capitalized on their momentum which led to Dybala scoring another goal just four minutes later.
Once again Dybala’s signature left foot delivered a goal which was struck towards the bottom corner. Just a short time after the second goal from Roma, Dybala’s freekick found Mancini who almost scored the third goal for Roma but Porto goalkeeper made an excellent save. The situation worsened further for Porto when Stephen Eustáquio received a red card after slapping Leandro Paredes in the 51st minute.
A ten man Porto was bound to face more difficulties in defending which eventually led to Niccolo Pisilli scoring the third goal assisted by none other than Paulo Dybala. At this point the game was put to bed and Porto even managed to get one goal because of an own goal by Roma defender Devyne Rensch but it did not change the final outcome.
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Roma vs Porto Post-Match Thoughts From Paulo Dybala
“After their goal, we showed the attitude of real men, of a great team,” he said.
“We were good at playing mean football, fighting on every tackle and then by finding the goal we gained confidence.”
“The affection that fans have for me is always something unique and beautiful.”
“We know that this season is not going as we all expected. So many things have happened, but we have a huge opportunity that in the past years has led us to play in the final, and in some cases to win a trophy.”
“We know that Europe can give us a lot. We said it before the match, that it is a possibility that we have and we want to realize it.”
Potential Opponents for Roma in Europa League Round of 16
Roma can potentially face Athletic Bilbao or their league rivals Lazio in the Europa League Round Of 16. Both are formidable opponents since Lazio are first in the Europa League table with 19 points and Athletic Bilbao are second in the table with 19 points as well.