Roma shock AC Milan with 1-0 victory in Europa League clash

Roma managed to secure a 1-0 victory over AC Milan in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-finals held at the San Siro on Thursday.

Gianluca Mancini secured Roma's victory with a header from Paulo Dybala's corner just 17 minutes into the game. 

Despite their best efforts, including a near-miss by Olivier Giroud who hit the woodwork, Milan couldn't break through Roma's defences, despite having beaten Roma twice in Serie A previously. This was a stark contrast to their previous encounters in Serie A where Milan had come out on top.

Roma, aiming for their third consecutive European final, now hold an advantage as they head into the second leg in Rome next week. They are now aiming for their third consecutive European final. Daniele de Rossi took over as Roma's manager after a 3-1 loss to Milan in January, which marked the departure of Jose Mourinho. Since then, Roma have only suffered two defeats across all competitions.

The winner of this all-Italian clash will go on to face either West Ham or Bayer Leverkusen in the semi-finals. West Ham hold a 2-0 lead after the initial leg. Currently, Xabi Alonso's team leads 2-0 after their first leg.

Roma, the winners of the 2021-22 Europa Conference League, were runners-up in last year's Europa League, losing in the final to Sevilla. They'll be hoping to go one step further this time around.