- Roma secured a 2-1 home win over Athletic Bilbao in the first leg of their Europa League round of 16 tie
- Inaki Williams opened the scoring, but Roma responded through Angelino and Eldor Shomurodov
- Athletic finished the match with ten men after Yeray Alvarez was sent off in the 85th minute
Key Takeaways:
Roma completed a comeback to secure a hard-fought 2-1 home victory over Athletic Bilbao in the first leg of their Europa League round of 16 tie. The visitors took the lead through Inaki Williams (50′), but the hosts responded with goals from Angelino (56′) and substitute Eldor Shomurodov (90+3′). Roma also benefited from the sending-off of Athletic’s central defender Yeray Alvarez (85′). The return leg will take place next week at San Mames.
⏱ | A thrilling first leg sees us take a goal advantage to Bilbao next week!
FORZA ROMA 🟡🔴#ASRoma #RomaAthletic #UEL pic.twitter.com/Oc4DXZyFxO
— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) March 6, 2025
The visitors created the first chances of the match, but Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta and Gomez both missed the target. In the 21st minute, Dovbyk had an opportunity but slipped, sending the ball straight into the hands of Agirrezabala. During the same play, defender Dani Vivian picked up an injury and was replaced by Aitor Paredes. In the 34th minute, Sanadi fired wide, and seven minutes later, Paulo Dybala struck the crossbar, narrowly missing what would have been the 200th goal of his career. Shortly after, Yeray Alvarez sent a header wide from a corner, and just before halftime, Sanadi missed again to give the Spaniards the lead.
The second half opened with a blocked effort from Gomez, leading to a corner. From the set-piece, Aitor Paredes headed the ball to Inaki Williams, who nodded home to put Athletic ahead. Roma nearly responded immediately, but Baldanzi fired over, and Pizzilli also missed the target. However, in the 56th minute, Angelino equalised after an assist from Mehmet Zeki Celik, scoring his fourth goal of the year.
Athletic then squandered several chances through Gomez, Inaki Williams, and substitute Alex Berenguer. In the 85th minute, Yeray Alvarez was sent off after receiving a second yellow card for a foul on Shomurodov, leaving the visitors with ten men. Roma applied pressure in the final moments, but substitutes Alexis Saelemaekers and Matias Soule failed to convert their chances. Still, in the last second of the three minutes of added time, Roma found the winner. Saelemaekers delivered a pass into the box to Shomurodov, who turned and scored to give his team the victory.