A decisive header by Gianluca Mancini secured a narrow 1-0 victory for Roma against AC Milan in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final at the San Siro.
Mancini found the net off a corner delivered by Paulo Dybala after just 17 minutes, granting last year’s finalists an advantage heading into the second leg in Rome next week.
Despite a late attempt by Olivier Giroud that struck the woodwork, Milan failed to breach Roma’s defense, a team they had previously defeated twice in Serie A.
Roma, aiming for a third consecutive European final, have shown resilience under the leadership of manager Daniele de Rossi, who assumed his role following a 3-1 defeat to Milan in January, which marked Jose Mourinho’s departure. Since then, Roma has suffered only two defeats in all competitions.
The winner of this all-Italian clash will meet either West Ham or Bayer Leverkusen in the semi-finals, with Xabi Alonso’s side currently leading 2-0 after the first leg.
Roma claimed the Europa Conference League title in the 2021-22 season and finished as runners-up in last year’s Europa League final, losing to Sevilla.