Roma 4-0 Brighton: Dybala and Lukaku shine in UEFA win

dealt Brighton’s UEFA Europa League dreams a huge blow when they inflicted a 4-0 defeat on Roberto De Zerbi’s side in the first leg of their last-16 tie at the Stadio Olimpico. Paulo Dybala and Romelu Lukaku scored in the first half and the damage was added to by further goals from Gianluca Mancini and Bryan Cristante after the restart. Brighton have it all to do in the return leg at the Amex on March 14.

Brighton suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat to AS Roma in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League last 16 tie at the Stadio Olimpico on Thursday.

Roberto De Zerbi’s side created plenty of chances in the match, but they were left to rue missed opportunities as Roma ran riot, with Paulo Dybala, Romelu Lukaku, Gianluca Mancini and Bryan Cristante all getting on the scoresheet for the hosts.

Dybala gave Roma the lead when he ran onto a wonderful ball from Leandro Paredes before rounding Jason Steele and sending the ball into an empty net. The assistant referee raised his flag too late and disallowed the goal, but VAR gave the green light as replays showed Dybala timed his run perfectly.

Lukaku doubled Roma’s lead when he capitalized on Lewis Dunk’s error as the Brighton captain took a poor touch on a high Roma ball forward, allowing the Belgian to run clear and shoot past a helpless Steele.

In the second half, Danny Welbeck missed Brighton’s best chance of the game when he sent a close-range effort onto the crossbar, before Roma settled the game with two quick goals. Mancini met Stephan El Shaarawy football shirt cross and dotted the ball past Steele before Cristante added a fourth goal with a header at the back post.

Brighton welcome Roma to the south coast next week for the return leg with a big mountain to climb, while Daniele De Rossi’s side have one foot firmly planted in the Europa League quarter-finals.

Talking point – Brighton rue missed chances

The goal score suggests that Roma dominated the match, but that’s far from the truth. Brighton football shirt had their share of chances, but Mile Svilar’s brilliance combined with the Seagulls’ lack of conviction meant they failed to find the back of the net with any of their 11 attempts.

There was controversy surrounding the third goal because it looked like Mancini had been offside, even though VAR gave the green light. But the harsh reality for De Zerbi’s team is that they weren’t clinical enough on the day, while Roma certainly were.

Player of the match – Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma)

This could have gone to a handful of Roma players, with Dybala and Lukaku both shining under the lights at the Stadio Olimpico, but it was El Shaarawy’s excellence that ultimately buried the game for Roma, and probably the draw.

Roma were actively looking for a third goal to close out the game, and El Shaarawy popped up with two fantastic assists for Mancini’s and Cristante’s goals. The two received their goals well, but it was all about the passing from the Italian.