Leicester City and AS Roma balanced each other on Thursday evening. In the first game of the semi-finals of the Conference League, the Romans struck in the first half, but in the end the team of manager Brendan Rodgers came alongside after the break: 1-1. The return will be played on Thursday 5 May in the Stadio Olimpico.
Rodgers had two important changes in store compared to the won quarter-final match with PSV (1-2). Jamie Vardy returned to striker position, putting Kelechi Iheanacho back on the bench. At the same time, Ademola Lookman was favored over Harvey Barnes in the left winger position. At AS Roma, as usual, a starting spot had been made available for Rick Karsdorp. Furthermore, in contrast to the lost Serie A match against Internazionale (3-1), Mourinho had cleared base places for Nicolò Zaniolo and Bryan Cristante.
Although Leicester were the dominant side in the first half and the Romans barely appeared in the scene, the scoreboard indicated a 0-1 score halfway through. Nicola Zalewski had an excellent pass in the house on Lorenzo Pellegrini, who scored at the height of the five meter line and took care of the opening goal with a diagonal shot. The home team came out dangerous several times, but the threat did not result in a goal before half-time. The certainly not undeserved equalizer came in the second half.
With Barnes now inside the lines, Leicester tied the score in the 67th minute of play. The substitute broke through on the left side of the box, after which he delivered a tight cross into the mouth of the goal. The incoming Lookman was in the right place to finish up close: 1-1. Fifteen minutes before the final whistle, Kelechi Iheanacho also had an excellent opportunity to score a goal; however, his hard shot into the bottom left corner was parried by goalkeeper Rui Patrício. On the other side, Kasper Schmeichel also had to act. The closing post saved Sergio Oliveira’s header. The ban would not be broken for the remainder of the game.
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