AS Roma vs Real Sociedad – 2023-03-09
AS Roma, under the guidance of José Mourinho, continued their impressive home form by securing a 2-0 victory over Real Sociedad in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League Round of 16 tie.
AS Roma began their first competitive game against Real Sociedad on a high note, taking an early lead thanks to Paulo Dybala’s vision and Tammy Abraham’s quick turn and cross, which was finished off by Stephan El Shaarawy at the back post.
Despite a poor start to the match, Real Sociedad slowly gained momentum and almost equalized with a close-range shot by Takefusa Kubo that hit the post, while AS Roma were saved by a narrow miss from Chris Smalling, as they went into halftime with a one-goal lead.
BIG goal for Roma 🔥#UEL pic.twitter.com/GMNqJKroMx
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) March 9, 2023
In a tightly contested second half, both AS Roma and Real Sociedad struggled to create clear chances until both teams made substitutions, with Andrea Belotti coming close to doubling Roma’s lead by hitting the post with a powerful shot.
As the clock ticked towards the final 10 minutes, Roma found themselves under pressure from Sociedad’s attempts to grab a late equalizer. The visitors had a glorious opportunity to level the score through Mikel Merino, but his wastefulness in front of goal proved costly. Ultimately, Roma sealed the win with a second goal from Marash Kumbulla, who expertly headed in from Paulo Dybala’s corner three minutes from time, setting themselves up for the return leg in San Sebastián.
