Roma-Milan 2-1: Mancini and Dybala give the Giallorossi the semi-final

Rome 18 April 2024 - Two goals in the first half and the game put on ice despite the man down, while the Milan it strikes too late to frighten the Capitolines. At the Olimpico Rome beats the Rossoneri 2-1 thanks to goals from Mancini e Dybala in the first half, then they play with ten men for 60 minutes after the red card Steel, but the guests did not find the goal that closed the gap before the 86th minute, too late to cause fear and apprehension to the Giallorossi. The Romans thus won this continental derby by winning two out of two, thus reaching the semi-final, while the team from Pioli.

First half

For the return match The Rossi relies on bove, as a substitute for the disqualified player Crystalline, while in defense it is Smalling to replace N'Dicka, XNUMX Steel e Spinazzola on the exteriors. Up front the yellow-red trident is made up of El Shaarawy, Lukaku e Dybala. Pioli responds with Tumor e Cage before maignan, while the median belt is composed of Bennacer e musah. Pulisic, loftus-Cheek e Lion they support the single tip Giroud.

The match is aggressive right from the start, the pressing on the ball carriers is decisive, but that of the Rome it seems more effective, given the various Rossoneri errors in the construction phase. Dybala e Pellegrini they are immediately aggressive and in the 13th minute they surprisingly take the lead. The Roma captain takes aim from outside the area and shoots powerfully with his right foot, but the ball hits the post. But he followed the action Mancini, who is blessed by Lady Luck, who favors the comfortable ball and with the goal wide open the Roma central defender scores the 1-0 at the Olimpico, just as he did at San Siro. Rome forward to the first real opportunity of the match, to the joy of the Olympic stadium. 

Il Milan try to regroup and, net of a few too many errors in dribbling, try to crush the home team. The Rossoneri did everything well until the last twenty meters of the pitch, when the home team's rearguard always found the right intervention to clear the penalty area. In the 20th minute though Loftus Cheek picks up the deviant suggestion of musah and kicks on goal, but the ball, after bouncing on the pitch, hits the crossbar of the Capitoline goal. It is one of the sliding doors of this match, because on the reversal in front of the Rome does not forgive. Pellegrini launches vertically for Lukaku: the Belgian fights and collects the ball with his body, getting rid of Cage. The former Chelsea striker's cross is initially blocked, but the ball bounces dangerously between his feet Dybala. The Argentine moves the ball to the left foot, places his sights on the far post and turns it where Maignan cannot reach, making it 2-0 for the home team. At 22' the Milan he is on his knees in front of the yellow-red team.

However, the goal costs him dearly Lukaku, who suffers from a physical problem and is forced to leave the pitch in the 28th minute, there is room for Abraham in his place. De Rossi's problems don't end here because in the 31st minute Steel stop hard Lion launched on the counterattack, the intervention is harsh and only hits the Portuguese's foot, The Marcins he has no doubts: red card for the Turk and Roma with ten men for the remaining hour of play. Choice then confirmed by VAR. On the numerical advantage, the Milan try to give themselves strength and look for the goal that would put the Milanese team back in the running for qualification. Five minutes later, in fact, it's still there Loftus Cheek to hit in the penalty area, this time with his head, but his attempt hits the back of Spinazzola, deployed on the wall of your door.

Thus we enter the last five minutes with a major protest from the Rossoneri, who ask for a penalty for the touch of the hand by Smalling in the penalty area, but the VAR confirms the correct non-call by The Marcins, actually assigns the free kick to the Giallorossi because the touch of the English central defender Rome happens after the one with the arm of Giroud. First half full of changes, in the 41st minute Bennacer since Milan e Dybala of Rome they leave the field, they enter in their place Jovic e Llorente. In seven minutes of added time Loftus Cheek e Pulisic they try from a distance, but their attempts are not convincing Silker, so in the 52nd minute the director blew the whistle twice, sending the teams to the break with Roma's lead of 2-0.

Second half

In the interval Pioli send into the field Chukwueze e Reinders, leave the playing field Calabria e Loftus Cheek, For a Milan super unscrupulous in search of a perfect second half to continue chasing qualification. Ready, go, now Cage he earns the yellow card after interrupting the restart for a foul Pellegrini. The guests, however, are anything but tame and a minute later it is Jovic to knock on the door of Silker, trying to turn the serve into the goal Chukwueze, but a deviation favors the save of the Roma goalkeeper.

A lot of desire, a lot of individual quality, but also a lot of confusion in the ideas of the Milanese team. This often offers the opportunity for a restart Rome, who in the 58th minute with Spinazzola comes close to the match point. El Shaarawy in fact he launches the full-back's solitary run into the opponent's half of the field, but only in front of maignan the Giallorossi full-back is hypnotized by maignan, kicking at him. The Milan is saved on this occasion, while the Rome he continues to defend himself very well and knows exactly how to hurt on the counterattack. 

In the 65th minute another scored opportunity Rome. Another great tip from El Shaarawy, very good at putting it in the area for Abraham. The Englishman first looks for the finishing touch with the heel strike, blocked by Cage, then he finds the ball between his feet and tries to anticipate the exit of maignan kicking on the fly. But the ball ends up high over the crossbar. Pioli everything goes for it and for the last twenty minutes he even fields five real attackers: in fact he comes on Okay, together with the great ex of this challenge, that is Florence, who took over the two Americans Pulisic e Musah, and Jovic in the 78th minute he ends up in the villains' notebook The Marcins.

We enter the last ten minutes of the game, with the beautiful action of Lion: intoxicating dribbling to unbalance Smalling, then balloon in tow, but neither Jovic before, nor Chukwueze then, they manage to translate the Portuguese's suggestion online. The Rossi you play two more changes, thus using your last available slot, they enter Angelino e Renato Sanches, as they go out Pellegrini e bove. The game now seems to be headed towards the end credits, but Cage give to Milan one last chance. In fact, Leago crosses perfectly from the left for the centre-back's header, which beats Svilar at the near post, halving the deficit to 2-1.

Time is in favor of Rome, but the boys of Pioli they believe it. In fact, Chukwueze frees himself on the right and tries with a curling shot to look for a goal from him, he relaxes Silker to reject. In the final five minutes of injury time, the AC Milan siege continued, but only the yellow card awarded to was worth mentioning Tumor and that to Theo Hernandez, converted into a yellow card after the VAR review, while Marciniak had incorrectly assigned the red card. So in the 96th minute the final whistle comes from the Polish referee, which confirms the success of the Capitoline team 2-1 and the passage to the semi-final of the Giallorossi, while Pioli and the Milan they definitively say goodbye to the European cups for this season.