STADIO OLIMPICO — There will be no fairytale this time. Even for Leicester, a club that has made a habit of upsetting the biggest of odds in recent years, the task of taking down a Jose Mourinho-marshalled Roma side and its thunderous support proved a step too far.
The Foxes’ wait for their first ever European final goes on after a narrow defeat inflicted by a familiar face, England’s own Tammy Abraham, and a frustratingly familiar source: a corner kick.
Leicester’s inability to defend corners has cost them all season long, with 14 goals conceded from them in the Premier League, and Abraham needed just 11 minutes to crash home a header from six yards.
It gave Mourinho all he needed: a lead to hold on to. That was what his team did masterfully, as Leicester failed to muster a shot on target until the 79th minute.
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- Patricio – 6
- Mancini – 7
- Smalling – 7
- Ibanez – 7
- Karsdorp – 7
- Oliveira – 7
- Cristante – 7
- Zalewski – 7
- Pellegrini – 8
- Zaniolo – 7
- Abraham – 8
Substitutes
- Veretout – 6
- Vina – n/a
- Shomorudov – n/a
Leicester
- Schmeichel – 6
- Pereira – 6
- Fofana – 7
- Evans – 7
- Justin – 6
- Maddison – 7
- Tielemans – 7
- Dewsbury-Hall – 7
- Lookman – 6
- Vardy – 5
- Barnes – 5
Substitutes
- Amartey – 6
- Iheanacho – 6
- Castagne – 6
- Perez – 6
The full-time roar of the Romans was the noise of a fanbase celebrating its first European final in 31 years, a crowd enlivened and electrified by their Portuguese coach and his familiar methods.
It was clear long before kick-off that this was no ordinary night in the Eternal City. Beeping scooters and scattered groups of fans quickly turned into a seething mass of bodies dressed in red and yellow the closer you got to the ground.
Inside the Stadio Olimpico, the home fans responded to Mourinho’s pre-match call to arms.
The wall of noise was accompanied by a banner that read “In Britain everyone trembles at the name of Roma”. The Italians tore out of the blocks. After having an early penalty shout ignored, Leicester had their backs to the wall as Kasper Schmeichel awkwardly palmed a Lorenzo Pellegrini effort into the ground.
Abraham soon powered home Pellegrini’s delivery. It was yet another moment to savour in an extraordinary debut season for the England striker. The former Chelsea man was already Roma’s record scorer in a debut season, but with this goal he entered their top 10 European goalscorer list, joining Vincenzo Montella on nine strikes.
Schmeichel was forced into another save to deny Pellegrini, batting away a shot at his near post, as the early onslaught continued before Mourinho’s troops retreated.
The visitors settled into a rhythm as the half wore on, but they went in at the break without a single shot on target, and Rodgers’ decision to switch to 3-5-2 for the second half, bringing on Kelechi Iheanacho and Daniel Amartey, didn’t have much of an effect. As the minutes ticked away, one touching moment broke the tension.
Claudio Ranieri, a man beloved by both these clubs, rose to his feet to receive a standing ovation from the entire stadium.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall rasped a long-range effort wide and eventually Rui Patricio’s gloves were warmed when James Maddison and Iheanacho found the target from range.
As the seconds ticked down, the noise levels rose to eardrum-bursting levels. This was Roma’s night, and a result delivered in textbook Mourinho style.
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