UEL: Roma will fight back against Leverkusen in the second leg, says De Rossi 

AS Roma boss Daniele De Rossi says his side will overturn the tides when they face Bayer Leverkusen in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League (UEL) semi-final clash next week, following their 2-0 home loss on Thursday.

Last night, Florian Wirtz and Robert Andrich scored in both halves of the game to give Die Werkself an advantage ahead of the return leg at the Bay Arena, Germany.

Speaking to the press after the loss, De Rossi started by commending the performances of his players against the Bundesliga champions

De Rossi to Roma Media

“I think we put in a decent performance. I liked the fact that we were so aggressive in the first half and managed to win the ball back quickly, forcing them to play long balls, which was part of what we’d prepared.

“We’ve broken the deadlock straight away in so many games in Europe and they went our way, but it was kind of the other way round tonight.”

Although Rick Karsdorp’s error led to Wirtz’s 28th-minute opener, his manager refused to throw him under the bus, citing the rhetoric “It’s part and parcel of the game.”

“Football is made up of episodes. It would be unfair to point the finger at a mistake today when in other games, maybe we’ve emerged victorious due to mistakes or moments of imprecision by others,” the Giallorossi gaffer said.

That’s part and parcel of the game. We’ll get through this together. We still have the away leg to come.

“Sometimes episodes can make games go in one direction or another. Even today, there were still 60 minutes to play and we could’ve done more. We had the chances to do that. In the last second, we had an incredible opportunity to go to Leverkusen with a different deficit. It’s their night tonight and it’s their year. They’re a team with real quality. The fact that they’ve got a lead makes them even more dangerous because they’re incredibly fast on the counter.”

De Rossi on the return leg

Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen—who’re three games away from winning a treble—haven’t suffered a single loss this season, having played 47 matches.

Well aware of the seeming unassailableness of the German side, De Rossi said, “Maybe we can break the deadlock in the second leg and change the course of the tie in our favour.

“I have so much belief. Of course, it’ll be a tough game against a strong side. We know all too well that it won’t be easy, but we won’t give up.

“We’ll play our game in Leverkusen – I’m sure of that, with the hope that the key moments go our way.”