Lukas Hradecky couldn’t prevent Bayer Leverkusen from losing.
Lukas Hradecky’s visit to Rome ended in disappointment. PDO
When HJK went to the group stage of the Europa League at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico, the home team was confused by the glamor court Jose Mourinho by praising the coaching staff of the guests Toni Koskelan tactical competence from earth to heaven.
In addition, The Special One went to shake hands with every member of the Club delegation before the match.
The trick worked pretty much as planned. HJK was completely left a mouthful for the Giallorossi.
On Thursday, Mourinho tried the same trick in the semi-final stage. This time, however, the opponent had played more than 150 matches under the Portuguese Xabi Alonsowho knew exactly the psychological tricks of the former coach.
Of course, Alonso and Mourinho hugged warmly before the start of the semi-final, but Die Werkself didn’t stay in the stands to marvel at the atmosphere of the Holy of Holies.
The first situation came after 30 seconds of play. Piero Hincapié humiliated Roma pack Mehmet Zeki Çelik and primed the pull position To Robert Andrich. However, the German’s loose shot was easily beaten by Roma For Rui Patricio.
The Portuguese thanked his luck five minutes later, when the super promise just turned 20 years old Florian Wirtz dance to an empty seat. However, the youngster’s shot narrowly missed the back post.
The story continues after the video
Watch Lukas Hradecky’s top save in the video. The deciding matches of the European League can be watched on VSport’s channels and on Elisa Viihde’s Viaplay service.
The hosts gradually got into the game, and in the 19th minute it was already needed Lukas Hradecky phenomenal reflexes. The veskari from Turku made a great save by Roger Ibañez a strong butt. Brassi was able to force the skipper by Lorenzo Pellegrini from the Vapari focus, but had to state that Finnish is still more advanced.
Bove solved
In the second period, even Hradecky was no longer able to keep Leverkusen upright. Roma’s own teenage star Edoardo Bove was the first to react to Hradecky’s blocked ball in front of him, and surely nailed it into the back bottom corner.
The opening goal of the semi-final came in the 63rd minute, when the Finnish team couldn’t convert by Tammy Abraham strong drive away from the goal-scoring sector, and the Leverkusen defenders did not have time to clear the ball into wider waters.
In the end, Leverkusen had to be satisfied with the loss of the goal, because the team’s offensive game practically completely dried up after the opening minutes. Without Hradecky’s heroics, the team would surely have suffered a crushing defeat in Rome.
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The mutual respect between Xabi Alonso (left) and José Mourinho was very evident before the match. PDO
Now, however, the final decision on the place in the final of the Europa League will remain in the second half of next Thursday, which will be played at Leverkusen’s own BayArena.
In the second semi-final, Sevilla, which almost monopolizes the Europa League, had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Juventus. The result was a huge disappointment for the Andalusians, because the Old Lady’s equalizer did not come until the seventh minute of added time.
Sevilla was close to victory for a long time. It led the opening period with a goal in the 26th minute, when the Argentine To Lucas Ocampos too much time was given. He could still see Youssef En-Nesery rise, and this one surely placed the ball with his racquet Wojciech Szczęsny behind the back.
Juventus equalized practically at the last second. Paul Pogba initial and Federico Gatti headed the ball into the net from close range.
On the Conference League side, West Ham rose from a losing position to a 2–1 win over AZ Alkmaar. Said Benrahma leveled the match from the tight end, and the Hammers’ super striker Michael Antonio scored a winning goal out of a goal jam.
In the second semi-final, Basel claimed a valuable 2–1 away victory over Florence. Fiorentina will still try to turn the match in a week in Switzerland in the return leg.