Svilar reassured but Roma duo fell short against Bayer Leverkusen

Italian media refuse to blame Mile Svilar despite a costly error in the second leg of the Europa League semifinal against Bayer Leverkusen, but two Roma players fell short in Germany last night, according to sports papers.

Svilar was in the spotlight at the BayArena on Thursday night as the Giallorossi keeper misjudged the flight of an Alex Grimaldo corner, surprising Gianluca Mancini behind him and causing the defender’s own goal.

Roma had taken a two-goal lead thanks to a Leandro Paredes brace from the spot, but Mancini’s own goal allowed the Germans to regain the lead across the two legs before their eventual equaliser.

Despite Svilar’s evident mistake, Italian newspapers refused to blame the 24-year-old who had produced several key saves before his costly error.

According to Il Corriere dello Sport, Svilar was even the best Roma player as he was rated 8/10, while Gazzetta lowered his rating to 6, but admitted that he would have deserved 8 for his decisive contribution until minute 82.

Svilar reassured but Roma duo fell short against Bayer Leverkusen

It’s safe to say that De Rossi shared the same feelings as he clarified during a post-match press conference.

“If I were talking to Svilar now, I’d only tell him thank you because it’s true that we played a great game, but it’s also true that they had many shots on target, and he was always more than ready—not only today but in any other game,” said DDR.

“So yes, I thank him and all the other guys. We played against a strong team, and sometimes, you have to recognise the technical, tactical, and physical value of the opponents.”

Roma had nearly turned it around at the BayArena so ratings for their players were pretty high on Italian sports papers on Friday.

Only two were rated below 6: Chris Smalling and Nicola Zalewski, while Romelu Lukaku received 5.5 from Gazzetta and 6 from Corriere dello Sport and Tuttosport.

Zalewski received the lowest rating among Roma players in Gazzetta and Corriere dello Sport (5). The Poland international was subbed on early to replace the injured Leonardo Spinazzola, but he was booked pretty soon and struggled to cope with Jeremie Frimpong’s pace. Both Gazzetta and Corriere dello Sport highlighted that the 22-year-old failed to impress also when De Rossi moved him to the right flank.

Smalling was also introduced as a substitute and was rated 5.5 by both newspapers. The Englishman stood in front of Svilar and ‘did not help’ the goalkeeper in the build-up to Leverkusen’s first goal.