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AS Roma advanced to the semi-finals after defeating Serie A rivals AC Milan 3-1 on aggregate in the competition’s quarterfinals.
The two sides are separated by 14 points in the Serie A league, with Milan second and Roma fifth, but the home team went into the second leg with a 1-0 lead after an excellent performance at San Siro last week.
Daniele de Rossi’s side won 2-1 in front of their own fans, despite being down to 10 men in the first half after Zeki Celik was sent off.
Roma has never won the Europa League, finishing as runners-up twice, including last season, when they were defeated by Sevilla in the final.
De Rossi’s team will face Bayer Leverkusen in the competition’s semi-finals, after the Bundesliga outfit defeated West Ham United.
AS Roma will face Bayer Leverkusen in the semi-finals
The first chance of the encounter resulted in the opening goal, with Gianluca Mancini, who scored in the first leg, scoring again in the 12th minute from close range after Lorenzo Pellegrini’s shot had hit the woodwork.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek hit the crossbar in the 20th minute, and Milan came close to equalizing, but Roma doubled their lead on the night and took a 3-0 aggregate lead in the 22nd minute through Paulo Dybala, who found the far corner with an excellent strike after smart work from Romelu Lukaku.
Milan did, however, have a lifeline in the 31st minute when Celik was sent off for a bad challenge on Rafael Leao, who was breaking clear down the left.
The visitors applied the pressure in the closing stages of the half, with the one-man advantage undoubtedly creating more space, but Roma held firm, and Milan had a long way to go.
Milan had a half-chance early in the second period through Christian Pulisic, but the United States international’s shot was always high over the Roma crossbar.
AS Roma proved too powerful for their Serie A rivals over the two legs
The hosts were a major threat on the break, and Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan had to make a smart save just before the hour to keep away Leonardo Spinazzola’s low shot.
Tammy Abraham was the next Roma player to try his luck, but his close-range effort was stopped as Milan continued to leave space at the back in order to commit players forward.
The visitors had a chance in the 85th minute when defender Matteo Gabbia headed a cross from Leao into the bottom corner, but it was always going to be too little, too late.
Theo Hernandez was handed a straight red card in second-half stoppage time for a challenge on Stephan El Shaarawy, but it was overturned after a VAR review, and Milan kept all 11 players on the field but were eliminated from the competition after a 3-1 aggregate loss.
Milan will now turn their attention to Monday’s Serie A showdown against Inter Milan, and a loss for Stefano Pioli’s side will see their opponents clinch the title with five games remaining.
Roma, meanwhile, will face Bologna at home on Monday, with De Rossi’s club hoping to extend their unbeaten streak in Italy’s top division to eight games.
