Juventus managed to salvage a 1-1 draw against Sevilla in the first leg of the Europa League semifinals thanks to Federico Gatti’s header deep into stoppage time. The Italian club’s hopes for a European trophy are once again reignited after a long drought. But they will need to win in the second leg next week for a chance to claim their first European title since the Champions League in 1996.
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Sevilla, who have won the trophy six times, showed their prowess as title contenders by scoring first through Youssef En-Nesyri’s counterattack. However, their hopes were dampened after Lucas Ocampos had to be substituted due to an injury. Sevilla have never lost a semifinal in the Europa League.
Meanwhile, Roma kept their bid for back-to-back European titles alive by defeating Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 in the first leg of their semifinal. Edoardo Bove scored the winner in the 63rd minute, netting his first European goal on a rebound with a left-foot strike after goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky saved the initial attempt by Tammy Abraham.
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Leverkusen, led by former Mourinho protege Xabi Alonso, could not make use of their opportunities to draw level. Jeremie Frimpong also missed chance after Roma goalkeeper Rui Patricio made a blunder.
West Ham comeback to win 2-1 in Conference League
West Ham’s comeback in the second half, spearheaded by Said Benrahma and Michail Antonio, resulted in a 2-1 victory over AZ Alkmaar at London Stadium. Benrahma successfully converted a penalty to cancel out the lead secured by the Dutch team, followed by Antonio’s close-range goal.
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Earlier, Tijjani Reijnders put the visitors ahead with a goal from outside the area just four minutes before halftime, which came a shocker for fans watching the game. The Hammers have been fighting for a European trophy since 1965 when they won the European Cup Winners’ Cup.
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Meanwhile, in Florence, Basel managed to turn the tables on Fiorentina, with Zeki Amdouni scoring in stoppage time to seal a 2-1 victory after Andy Diouf had equalised in the 71st minute. Despite Fiorentina attacking constantly from the start, Basel stood firm until Arthur Cabral scored the opening goal via a header for the hosts following a corner kick in the 25th minute.
With this, he has become the top scorer in this season’s league with seven goals.
