FULL TIME: ROMA 1-1 AJAX (ROMA WIN 3-2 ON AGGREGATE)
90' +5
Kudus ambitiously tries his luck from range, but drags his shot wide of the near post.
90' +4
Tadic picks the ball up in the inside-left channel and drives in field. Just as the Serbian shapes to shoot, Villar gets across to make a vital interception before the ball is fired to safety.
90' +2
Lisandro Martínez gets yellow.
A long, searching pass is gathered on the halfway line by Mayoral, who seeks to advance down the right flank. The Spaniard knocks the ball past Martinez before being blocked off by the midfielder, and the Argentinian goes into the book.
90'
There will be five minutes of added time at the end of this game.
89'
N. Tagliafico gets yellow.
The game is getting very scrappy with only a few minutes left to play. Tagliafico lunges in on Mancini, and, as the counter was building, the referee pulls it back to book the Italian defender. The Giallorossi are furious as they looked to be breaking through on goal.
87'
Pedro enters the game and replaces H. Mkhitaryan.
With three minutes of normal time left to play, Pedro comes on in place of Mkhitaryan.
86'
B. Cristante gets yellow.
Cristante stretches to gather a heavy first touch just inside the Ajax half and catches Klaassen with the follow-through. Taylor shows the defender a yellow card.
85'
Tadic’s cross from the left evades Traore, and Villar hooks the ball to safety from the middle of the penalty area.
83'
O. Idrissi enters the game and replaces P. Schuurs.
L. Traoré enters the game and replaces David Neres.
After being subbed on in the first half, Schuurs is now replaced by the on-loan Idrissi. It looks to be all-out attack now for Ten Hag’s side.
As they seek that all-important second away goal, Traore enters the fray in place of Neres for Ajax.
Minute
Description
81'
Gonzalo Villar enters the game and replaces R. Calafiori.
It is a double change for the Giallorossi, with the injured Calafiori making way for Villar. It remains 1-1 on the night.
80'
Borja Mayoral enters the game and replaces E. Džeko.
Minutes after picking up that yellow card, Dzeko heads for the bench. He is replaced by Mayoral for the closing stages.
78'
E. Džeko gets yellow.
With 12 minutes of normal time to go, Dzeko goes into the book after standing on Martinez’s foot just inside the visitors’ half.
77'
Martinez clatters through the back of Dzeko and Fonseca’s side win a free-kick down by the right corner flag in Ajax’s half. Pellegrini’s set-piece delivery is headed clear by Martinez.
74'
That equalising goal means that the tie will go to extra-time if Ajax score again in the remaining minutes.
72'
E. Džeko has scored a goal for Roma!
GOOOAAAAALL! Roma retake the lead on aggregate! A quick counter allows Calafiori to drive down the left, and a slip from Timber gives the winger the space to cross. His delivery deflects kindly to the back post off Gravenberch, and Dzeko is well placed to fire the ball into the bottom-right corner. 1-1.
70'
Ten Hag makes his third change of the match, bringing on Kudus for Alvarez. It remains 1-0 on the night, but Ajax still need to score another away goal.
69'
M. Kudus enters the game and replaces E. Álvarez.
68'
G. Mancini gets yellow.
Following a foul from Diawara on Gravenberch down the left-hand side of the field, Mancini is shown a yellow card for dissent.
Schuurs floats another pass beyond the hosts’ defence for Tadic to chase. The Serbian collects the ball down the left and looks to slide a low cross, but Cristante cuts it out.
67'
J. Veretout gets yellow.
Veretout is the latest player to go into the book after cynically tripping Gravenberch down the left flank.
65'
Pellegrini’s out-swinging corner is met by Dzeko, but his header from the centre of the box goes over the bar.
64'
The Giallorossi switch the play over to the right and Karsdorp plays a clever first-time pass down the line for Pellegrini. The midfielder turns inside of Gravenberch before seeing his low cross put behind for a corner by Martinez.
60'
The away side are continuing to dominate the ball, with Roma penned in their own half at present. The hosts are looking to break out through long passes to Dzeko, but he is struggling to hold up the play under pressure from Schuurs.
58'
As things stand, Roma will be advancing to the semi-finals of the Europa League on away goals.
54'
Neres slides the ball into Alvarez, although the midfielder’s long-range effort sails over the bar.
51'
Ibanez is cynically clipped by Schuurs and Roma win a free-kick on the edge of the visitors’ box.
49'
B. Brobbey has scored a goal for Ajax! Assist by P. Schuurs.
GOOOAAAALL! Ajax take the lead on the night! Schuurs floats a long pass over the hosts’ defence, which Brobbey latches onto. Lopez rushes out and is beaten by the substitute’s flick from the centre of the box, and the ball bounces into the bottom-right corner. 1-0.
Schuurs’ flighted pass from midway inside his own half was fired into the perfect spot, and Brobbey did not even have to break stride to meet it. Despite Lopez’s presence, the Dutchman kept his cool and applied a neat first-time finish.
48'
Tagliafico’s forward pass down the left found Tadic, although he had strayed into an offside position.
46'
B. Brobbey enters the game and replaces Antony.
The away side make one change at the break. Antony makes way for Brobbey.
We are back under way! Taylor, the referee, blows his whistle and Roma get the second half kicked off.
45' +1
HALF TIME: ROMA 0-0 AJAX (ROMA LEAD 2-1 ON AGGREGATE)
45'
There will be one minute of added time at the end of this half.
43'
Ibañez gets yellow.
Ibanez picks up the first yellow card of the match for a late challenge from behind on Antony. He can have no complaints with that decision.
Following that foul on Antony, Tadic’s deep set-piece into the centre of the box is nodded to safety by Pellegrini.
42'
Neres creates a yard of space for himself down the left-hand side of the field, although his floated cross is beyond Klaassen at the back post.
40'
Gravenberch’s in-swinging set-piece delivery picks out Alvarez in the centre of the box, and the midfielder’s header cannons against Ibanez and behind for a corner.
39'
Cristante brings down Tadic and the away side win a free-kick in an advanced position down the left flank.
34'
Schuurs launches a long, searching pass beyond the home side's defence for Tadic to chase, although the ball is overhit and runs through for Lopez to gather.
32'
Ten Hag’s side continue to work the ball around inside their own half as they patiently look to carve out an opening. The Yellow and Reds, however, are proving difficult to break down.
28'
Tagliafico gets into a tangle with Pellegrini down the right-hand side of the field, and the decision goes Roma’s way. The game’s rhythm is being interrupted by a number of cynical fouls.
26'
Pellegrini goes down under pressure from Martinez on the halfway line and looks to the referee for a free-kick. Taylor, however, waves play on.
24'
Dzeko catches Martinez and the referee awards Ajax a free-kick midway inside their own half. Timber has gone over to right-back following Klaiber’s injury, with Schuurs filling in at the centre of defence.
22'
P. Schuurs enters the game and replaces S. Klaiber.
Ten Hag is forced into make an early change. Klaiber goes off with an injury and is replaced by Schuurs.
18'
Antony picks the ball up down the right flank and seeks to get in behind the hosts’ defence by playing a one-two with Tadic. The Ajax captain backheels a pass into the box, and the Brazilian just cannot get it under control.
16'
The winner of this tie will face either Manchester United or Granada. The Red Devils currently lead 1-0 at Old Trafford through Edinson Cavani, and 3-0 on aggregate.
12'
Veretout tries his luck from distance, and his long-range strike is well blocked. Roma are starting to find their feet.
7'
After conceding two away goals in the return leg, Ajax have to score at least two goals to keep their hopes alive of progressing to the next round.
4'
Tadic breaks the offside trap and gets in behind the hosts’ defence down the left-hand side of the penalty area. The Serbian drills the ball across the box for Antony, and Ibanez gets across to turn the ball behind for a corner.
3'
The visitors are seeing plenty of the ball in the opening minutes, but Roma are quick to apply the press midway inside the Ajax half.
1'
Kick-off! The referee, Anthony Taylor, blows his whistle and Roma get the game under way.
Hello and welcome to live match coverage of the Europa League quarter-final second-leg clash between Roma and Ajax at Stadio Olimpico.
Following their 2-1 away win in the first leg, Roma followed that up with a one-goal victory over Bologna in their last Serie A outing. Ajax, on the other hand, beat RKC Waalwijk 1-0 in their most recent Eredivisie fixture.
ROMA (3-4-2-1): Pau Lopez; Gianluca Mancini, Bryan Cristante, Ibanez; Rick Karsdorp, Amadou Diawara, Jordan Veretout, Riccardo Calafiori; Lorenzo Pellegrini, Henrikh Mkhitaryan; Edin Dzeko.
ROMA SUBS: Antonio Mirante, Daniel Fuzato, Raul Morichelli, Davide Santon, Ebrima Darboe, Gonzalo Villar, Carles Perez, Riccardo Ciervo, Pedro, Borja Mayoral.
The home side come into this game having lost just one of their 11 Europa League matches in 2020-21. Fonseca’s team are yet to lose at home, and have scored 14 goals in five European matches at Stadio Olimpico. Ajax, meanwhile, have won four of their five Europa League contests. The visitors have scored two goals in each of their previous games on the road, which is a feat that they will need to replicate against the Italian outfit.
AJAX (4-2-3-1): Maarten Stekelenburg; Sean Klaiber, Jurrien Timber, Lisandro Martinez, Nicolas Tagliafico; Edson Alvarez, Davy Klaassen, Ryan Gravenberch; Antony, David Neres, Dusan Tadic.
The teams are out, and kick-off will soon be upon us here at Stadio Olimpico.
Fonseca will hope to see more offensively after the break, but will be pleased by his side’s defensive structure. The Italian outfit have limited their visitors to few clear-cut chances, and have looked a threat on the break through Pellegrini. Ten Hag, meanwhile, will demand more ruthlessness in the second half. For all of Ajax’s possession, their final action has often lacked the required quality to cause Roma serious problems.
That brings an end to our coverage of the Europa League quarter-final second-leg clash between Roma and Ajax at Stadio Olimpico. Thank you very much for joining us. Goodbye!
Roma return to Serie A action next time out with a trip to face Torino. Ajax, on the other hand, will look to bounce back when they play Vitesse in the KNVB Beker final.
Commentary
More…