Jose Mourinho’s Roma win first major European title in more than 60 years with 1-0 victory over Feyenoord in Tirana.
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| Roma's Lorenzo Pellegrini lifts the Europa Conference League trophy [Marko Djurica/Reuters] |
Nicolo Zaniolo’s goal was enough to earn AS Roma its first major European title in more than 60 years after 1-0 victory over Feyenoord in the Europa Conference League final in Albania. Thereby completing a unique European trophy haul for Jose Mourinho.
Roma became the first winners of the Europa Conference League and by beating Feyenoord 1-0, ensuring Jose Mourinho remains unbeaten in major European finals.
Mourinho had his fingerprints all over the Roma performance as his side defended heroically for large parts and got their winning goal with their first shot on goal when Nicolo Zaniolo skilfully prodded home after 32 minutes.
Feyenoord who last won the UEFA Cup in 2002, dominated the early possession but failed to create any meaningful chances and were punished when Zaniolo chested down a cross from Roger Ibanez and put his side in front.
The Dutch ended the half with their first real chances from Orkun Kokcu and Cyriel Dessers but it was routine work for former Wolves goalkeeper Rui Patricio.
Feyenoord maintained their momentum at the start of the second half and almost levelled when Roma defender Gianluca Mancini deflected a short corner onto his own post before Rui Patricio saved well.
Patricio also did well to tip a drive from Lutsharel Geertruida onto the post before a potentially pivotal moment after 54 minutes, when Tammy Abraham appeared to be fouled by last man Marcos Senesi as he looked to burst clear, only for the referee to take no action.
The impressive Smalling blocked a drive from Kokcu on the edge of the box then was in the right place again to stop a drive from Dessers as the minutes ticked by.
Lorenzo Pellegrini almost made it two for Roma before Feyenoord spurned a golden opportunity to level in injury time when Bryan Linssen missed a sitter from close range.
As the whistle blew in Tirana, Mourinho celebrated by raising five fingers to the sky in homage to his European conquests.
Roma coach Mourinho, who had previously won the Champions League, Europa League and the UEFA Cup with other clubs, can now add the third-tier European title – the Italian side’s first trophy in 14 years – to his medal tally.
The 22-year-old Zaniolo earned Roma victory on Wednesday with an expertly-taken finish in the 32nd minute, as he became the first Italian to score in a European final since Filippo Inzaghi against Liverpool in the 2007 Champions League.
Roma, whose only previous continental title was the old Fairs Cup in 1961, held off a spirited comeback from their Dutch opponents, who were twice denied by the woodwork in the second half.
That ensured that Mourinho became the first manager to win a European trophy with four different clubs, after previous successes at Porto, Inter Milan and Manchester United.
“We are a real team, we proved that. Now we have to celebrate and then start again, which is always difficult after a great victory, but a real team wins, celebrates and starts again,” Roma captain Lorenzo Pellegrini told Sky Sport Italia.
Player ratings
Roma: Rui Patricio (8), Mancini (7), Smalling (9), Ibanez (8), Karsdorp (7), Cristante (7), Mkhitaryan (6), Pellegrini (7), Zalewski (7), Zaniolo (8), Abraham (8)
Subs: Oliveira (7), Spinazzola (7), Viña (6)
Feyenoord: Bijlow (6), Geertruida (6), Trauner (5), Senes (6), Malacia (6), Aursnes (6), Orkun Kökçü (7), Til (6), Nelson (6), Dessers (5), Sinisterra (6)
Subs: Linssen (6), Toornstra (6), Pedersen (7)
Man of the match: Chris Smalling
Opta stats: More Mourinho magic
Mourinho is the second manager to win five major European titles after Giovanni Trapattoni, with the Portuguese now winning the UEFA Europa Conference League, the UEFA Champions League twice and also the UEFA Cup/Europa League twice.
Teams coached by Mourinho have now gone 423 minutes since last conceding in a major European final, with Henrik Larsson the last the player to score against one of his sides in such a match (57th minute for Celtic in the UEFA Cup against Porto in 2003). Mourinho-led sides have kept four consecutive clean sheets since.
Courtesy of Chris Smalling and Tammy Abraham, Roma became the first non-British side to start a major European final with two Englishmen in their starting XI. With Reiss Nelson also starting for Feyenoord, this game featured three of the 11 instances of an Englishman starting a major European final for a non-British team.
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