In the first leg of their Europa League knockout round playoff on Thursday, Porto managed to secure a 1-1 draw against a 10-man AS Roma, courtesy of Francisco Moura’s goal in the second half. Meanwhile, Turkish champions Galatasaray suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat at AZ Alkmaar.
Roma initially took the lead just before the halftime whistle when Zeki Celik capitalised on a loose ball in the six-yard box. However, Moura levelled the score in the 67th minute after his shot deflected off a defender and went past goalkeeper Mile Svilar.
The situation worsened for Claudio Ranieri’s Roma five minutes later when Bryan Cristante received a second yellow card, reducing the team to 10 players. Despite losing forward Paulo Dybala to injury before halftime, Roma managed to withstand Porto’s late surge as the hosts attempted to exploit their numerical advantage. Nonetheless, Goncalo Borges and Danny Namaso were unable to find the net.
Roma, who have reached the Europa League final twice before, hope to secure their first victory against Porto in four European encounters. The winners of this tie will face either Athletic Bilbao or Lazio, Roma’s fierce rivals.
Galatasaray, reduced to ten players, endured a 4-1 loss against Alkmaar in the Netherlands, marking the Dutch team’s first European knockout round in half a decade. Alkmaar struck first after 12 minutes with Sven Mijnans curling a magnificent free kick into the top left corner. Galatasaray quickly responded eight minutes later when Roland Sallai unleashed a powerful shot from outside the penalty area to level the score. The home side regained their advantage in the 37th minute as Troy Parrott converted a penalty. The visitors’ troubles worsened early in the second half when Kaan Ayhan received a second yellow card. Jordy Clasie extended Alkmaar’s lead in the 57th minute, and David Moller Wolfe wrapped up the comprehensive victory in the 66th, setting them up for a potential clash with either Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspur in the next round. Meanwhile, Twente Enschede of the Netherlands secured a dramatic 2-1 victory at home over Bodo/Glimt, as captain Ricky van Wolfswinkel coolly converted a penalty in the 95th minute. Earlier, Patrick Berg had equalised for Bodo/Glimt in the 85th minute following Sayfallah Ltaief’s early goal just five minutes into the match.
Romania’s Steaua Bucharest staged a remarkable comeback to triumph over Greek champions PAOK with a 2-1 victory, as a late first-half dismissal of Taison proved detrimental for the home team. Steaua’s replacement, Andrei Gheorghita, found the net in the 50th minute to level the score after Mbwana Samatta had given PAOK the lead in the 21st minute. Joyskim Dawa completed the turnaround with a decisive goal in the 60th minute. Earlier in the day, Turkey’s Fenerbahce secured an emphatic 3-0 home success against Belgian club Anderlecht, while Ajax Amsterdam, Real Sociedad, and Ferencvaros also established first-leg advantages.
