AS Roma coach, Daniele De Rossi, is very happy that his team can beat Brighton & Hove Albion in the first leg of the last 16 of the 2023-2024 Europa League. He was very satisfied with the Giallorossi’s performance because the players carried out their strategy well.
AS Roma won 4-0 when they hosted Brighton at the Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy, Thursday (7/3/2024). The four winning goals were scored by Paulo Dybala (12′), Romelu Lukaku (43′), Gianluca Mancini (64′), and Bryan Cristante (68′).
This duel brings together Daniele De Rossi and Roberto De Zerbi, two coaches who have a close relationship. The two daughters even became friends with each other where they lived in London.
Appearing in this match, Brighton became the first Premier League team to advance to the knockout round of a European club competition in their debut season since Bolton Wanderers in the 2005-2006 UEFA Cup.
However, the Seagulls were stunned with the hosts opening the scoring in the 14th minute.
Paulo Dybala escaped the offside trap to meet Leandro Paredes’ through ball. He passed goalkeeper Jason Steele before hitting the ball.
The semi-automatic offside system finally confirmed that Dybala was not in a prohibited position before scoring the goal. Paulo Dybala has now scored 12 goals in his last 14 appearances at the Stadio Olimpico, including six goals in his last five games.
Roma then scored the second goal of the match through Romelu Lukaku three minutes before the first half ended. Lukaku scored his seventh goal in the Europa League this season after taking advantage of Lewis Dunk’s blunder in controlling a high ball.
Brighton tried to respond with a header from Danny Welbeck, but the ball was pushed over by Roma goalkeeper Mile Svilar. The first half ended 2-0.
After a period where both teams tested each other, it was Roma who scored the third goal of the game. Defender Gianluca Mancini met a cross from the left side with a flying right-footed shot. A VAR check was carried out and confirmed the goal of player number 23.
The 3-0 score quickly turned into 4-0 for hosts Roma less than five minutes later. Brian Cristante scored his first goal in 9 matches in the Europa League this season with a flying header after receiving Stephane El Sharaawy’s pass from the left side. The score did not increase any further and Roma recorded a dominant lead ahead of the second leg.
After the match, De Rossi even admitted that he didn’t do much because the players immediately carried out his instructions well. The 40 year old tactician stated that AS Roma deserved this big victory.
“Actually, I didn’t do much, everything went according to plan and I was very happy,” said De Rossi, reported by Football Italia, Friday (8/3/2024).
“The players I found here are very talented, I’ve said it from day one, we won games that Roma should have won. “We are a great squad and that’s why we won, there’s nothing special about that,” continued the man from Italy.
Considering that they are both from Italy, De Rossi does not feel he is superior to Brighton coach Roberto De Zerbi. He even admitted that facing his compatriots required extra hard work.
“Look, I don’t want to underestimate how happy I am with our performance, and I did see a lot of things I liked, but in the second half we could have controlled the ball better,” said De Rossi.
“I like De Zerbi, so to prepare for a match against him you need to work twice as hard. “I admit I really made the players a little angry,” said the AS Roma legend.
This victory clearly makes AS Roma very comfortable to advance to the quarter-finals of the 2023-2024 European League. For the second leg, the Giallorossi will visit Brighton’s headquarters at the Falmer Stadium on Friday 15 March 2024.
