Roma won the first-ever UEFA Europa Conference League final at Tirana‘s National Arena by defeating Feyenoord, making history.
Also read: Europa Conference League final: Roma beat Feyenoord 1-0
Nicolo Zaniolo’s goal gave Roma their first major European trophy in over 60 years as they lodged a 1-0 win over Feyenoord. This win ended Roma’s drought since winning the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1961, which is considered the forerunner to the UEFA Cup and Europa League. It’s also Roma’s first title of any kind since winning the Italian Cup in 2008.
Also read: UK government okays Chelsea sale: What it means for the Premier League club
Roma’s win completes a unique trophy haul for José Mourinho. The Roma coach, who has also won the Champions League, Europa League, and the Uefa Cup, now can add the third-tier European crown to his trophy cabinet.
“Winning is difficult. You need many components to win,” Mourinho said in the post-match press conference.
Roma beat CSKA Sofia, Udinese, Empoli, Cagliari, Genoa, Zorya Luhansk, Torino, Spezia, Atlanta, Lecce, Vitesse, and Sampdoria in the group stages. Fiorentina, Inter, Verona, Lazio, Bodo/Glimt, Venezia, Bologna, and Milan were among the teams it lost to.
Some of Roma’s games were draws, including those against Venezia, Leicester City, Napoli, Vitesse, Udinese, Sassuolo, and Sampdoria.
Roma had a lot of ups and downs in the group stages. In the second half of the league, they have struggled. With 13 points, Roma topped the Group C table of the UEFA Europa League Conference League. They won four of their six games. The team had to play more than 50 games to reach the finals.
Also read: Mum’s the word: Why Kylian Mbappe considered joining Liverpool 5 years ago
After pulling the ball down off his chest in the final match against Feyenoord, the 22-year-old Zaniolo guided it home with a left-footed touch in the 32nd minute, grabbing the cup for Roma. Chris Smalling was declared the man of the match for his performance.