A second-half volley from Matts Wieffer helped Feyenoord beat Roma 1-0 in the first leg of the Europa League quarterfinals on Thursday.
Ouassama Idrissi set up an assist on 54 minutes, escaping down the left flank before lavishing a precise cross on Wieffer. The locals thus achieved a victory that tasted like a sweet revenge.
The match was a repeat of last year’s final in the inaugural edition of the Europa Conference League. Roma prevailed in that match 1-0, so that coach José Mourinho bagged his fifth European title.
Lorenzo Pellegrini, captain of Roma, wasted a golden opportunity, two minutes before the intermission, by hitting a goal post defended by goalkeeper Justin Bijlow, from the penalty spot.
The Argentine Paulo Dybala and Tammy Abraham, strikers for Roma, left the match due to injuries.
Manchester United later hosted Sevilla, the six-time champion, in the quarterfinals. Juventus was measured with Sporting and Leverkusen with Union Saint-Gilloise of Belgium.
EUROPA CONFERENCE LEAGUE
West Ham’s perfect run ended with a 1-1 draw in Ghent. The London team accumulated 10 wins in the tournament, including the qualifying phase.
Hugo Cuypers, Ghent’s top scorer, salvaged the equalizer for the Belgian hosts. He reached five goals in the competition this season, 12 minutes into the second half.
Danny Ings punched Jarrod Bowen’s cross into the net, following a hastily executed throw-in by Vladimir Coufal, to give the visitors the lead in first-half injury time.
It was the 30-year-old striker’s first goal in a European tournament.
Even so, West Ham is close to reaching a European semi-final for the second year in a row. They were knocked out in the Europa League top four round last year by eventual champions Frankfurt.
