Italy will have a representative in an European final this season after AS Roma saw off Premier League outfit Leicester City to qualify for the UEFA European Conference League (UECL) final. Roma reached the final thanks to the 2-1 aggregate win over the Foxes at the end of their two-legged semifinal tie.
Roma were able to do a lot of the work in the first leg at the King Power Stadium last week Thursday via a 1-1 draw. The team from Italy took the lead after 15 minutes in the first leg through Lorenzo Pellegrini and they held on to the advantage until midway into the second half when Roma defender Gianluca Mancini put through his own net to leave the tie in the balance ahead of the second leg at the StadioOlimpico in Rome on Thursday night.
The second leg was decided by the 11th minute goal from in-form Roma striker Tammy Abraham who knows a lot about the opposition having moved to Italy from Chelsea at the start of the season. His goal was decisive as it took the Italian capital club to an European final. AS Roma were said to have paid around £36m to secure his transfer from European champions Chelsea last summer. After a successful debut season in Italy, the Nigerian-born English striker has been linked with a return to the Premier League.
Clubs from Italy have not done well on the continent this season especially in the Champions League. No Italian team made it to the quarterfinals in the Champions League this season, while the quarterfinals proved to be the last stage for Atalanta in the Europa League after they were eliminated by German team RB Leipzig.
Roma will take on Dutch team Feyenoord in the Conference League final after they saw off French giants Marseille via a 3-2 aggregate victory.