Super Eagles striker Cyriel Dessers was on the losing end as his Feyenoord side lost the finals of the maiden Europa Conference League to a Mourinho-tutored Roma side.
The Air Stadium in Tirana was set for history on the night as both teams looked to claim the maiden edition of the UEFA Europa League. A victory for Feyenoord would have made them the only team to have won all three UEFA club competitions, while a victory for Roma would ensure their first European title.
For Roma boss Jose Mourinho, he looked to keep his 100 percent record in European finals intact.
The game started very tight, but Roma slightly had the upper hand and looked threatening. However, it took a moment of madness from the Feyenoord defense and intelligent play from the Roma attack to see the first goal of the game.
Gianluca Mancini capitalized on a defensive mix-up from Feyenoord and played Nicolo Zaniolo through, and Zaniolo finished with aplomb to put Giallorossi ahead.
The game soon sparked up after that, but Feyenoord were lacking ideas in the final third, leaving Dessers stranded.
Feyenoord started the second half like a house on fire, creating multiple chances. Nonetheless, goalkeeper Rui Patricio was up to the task, as he made two early saves.
Feyenoord were on top for the majority of the second half, but they failed to create much asides from the early pressure. Dessers was isolated in attack, and the Nigerian star looked off sorts whenever he got the ball. He lost the ball 14 times and failed to register a shot.
Mourinho employed his favorite defensive tactics, blocking out Feyenoord, and the Giallorossi held out for a slim 1-0 victory to claim their first-ever European trophy.
This post was last modified on May 25, 2022 10:24 pm