AS Roma have secured their winter in the Conference League. Jose Mourinho’s team beat Zorya Luhansk 4-0 on Thursday evening and are therefore assured of a place in the top two, along with Bodö/Glimt. The club from Norway won 2-0 against CSKA Sofia and has eleven points; Roma is ten, while number three Zorya is out with six points. Rick Karsdorp was on the field with the home team for ninety minutes.
In Ukraine, Roma already won 0-3 and Mourinho’s team also had little trouble in front of its own audience. Carles Pérez opened the score by acting as the end point of a counter after fourteen minutes. At the far post, he was enabled by Stephan El Shaarawy to finish into the right corner. Nicolò Zaniolo made it 2-0, also from a low shot into the right corner. The preparatory work was done by Jordan Veretout, who played on Zaniolo after successfully sprinting through the axis of the field himself.
The same Vertetout missed an excellent opportunity four minutes before half time to score himself. After a foul by Vladislav Kabaev on Pérez, the Frenchman was allowed to score a penalty, but his effort was kept out of the corner by keeper Dmytro Matsapura. Tammy Abraham took care of the 3-0 and the 4-0 after the break. The striker hit an empty goal on a pass from Zaniolo and scored from an overhead kick fifteen minutes before the end, after the ball ended up in the penalty area at his feet.
The big win was welcome for Roma, who had previously suffered a 6-1 defeat at Bodö/Glimt in the group stage and drew 2-2 at home against the league-leader three weeks ago. In two weeks, Roma will visit CSKA Sofia, while Bodö/Glimt will travel to Ukraine. If Bodö/Glimt lose points, Roma can claim the group win through a win. The group winner goes directly to the eighth finals, while the number two plays an intermediate round in the knockout phase.
Related
More sports news