Real Sociedad v Roma Live Commentary & Result, 16/03/2023, UEFA Europa League

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Roma advance to the quarter-finals of the Europa League alongside Juventus, Manchester United, Bayer Leverkusen, Feyenoord, Union SG, Sevilla, and one of Arsenal or Sporting.

Real Sociedad did well to get past Roma's defence and had a handful of chances in the second half to get themselves back in the tie, but they just could not get the ball in the back of the net. Oyarzabal had the best opportunity to put his side 1-0 up, but only managed to hit the crossbar. Roma weren't at their best, but they happily defended deep after doing all the work in the first leg.

90' + 9' FULL-TIME: REAL SOCIEDAD 0-0 AS ROMA (0-2 on aggregate)

90' + 8' Fernandez gets a second yellow and is sent off after he gets in Smalling's face.

C. Smalling

Yellow Card

90' + 8' It's all kicking off here! Smalling gets booked after exchanging some words with Fernandez after the Real Sociedad player falls in the box.

90' + 4' Fernandez heads the ball from the centre of the box, but it's wide.

90' + 3' Real Sociedad are continuing to push to try and find the back of the net, but their time is running out.

90' We're getting at least seven minutes of added time!

Carlos Fernández

Yellow Card

87' Fernandez is booked for a foul.

E. Bove

L. Pellegrini

87' Lorenzo is off for Bove.

86' The ball hits Lorenzo's arm, and while the hosts want a penalty, VAR deems it too soft.

85' Roma have still yet to have a shot on target so far in this game.

82' Merino very obviously wraps his arms around Abraham in an attempt to get the ball back, but only ends up committing a foul.

80' Real Sociedad have attempted 13 shots in this match, higher than their season average of 12.8 in the UEFA Europa League.

M. Cho

Brais Méndez

79' Cho is on for Mendez.

T. Abraham

A. Belotti

76' Belotti makes way for Abraham.

S. El Shaarawy

P. Dybala

75' El Shaarawy comes on for Dybala.

74' CHANCE FOR REAL SOCIEDAD! From a corner, Zubeldia gets a header, but he aims it wide!

74' Real Sociedad are furious! Take is pushed point blank right outside of the box, and right in front of the referee, before he lays off a pass, but the official isn't interested, and waves to play on!

73' Belotti has won 5 fouls in this game, more than any other player on either team (ahead of Dybala - 3 fouls won).

Álex Sola

Gorosabel

71' Sola comes on for Gorosabel.

T. Kubo

Mikel Oyarzabal

71' Oyarzabal comes off for Kubo.

68' WHAT A CHANCE! SOMEHOW REAL SOCIEDAD HAVEN'T SCORED! From a corner, Oyarzabal gets free from the defender marking him, and hits a shot straight at Patricio. It comes straight back at him, and he shoots the ball into the bar, rather than the open net! His head is in his hands in disbelief at just what happened, as goal-line technology confirm that the ball didn't fully cross the line after hitting the crossbar.

66' Roma have looked stronger defensively in this half, as they aren't letting Real Sociedad with as many shots on goal.

63' The hosts have had 80.1% possession over the opening 15 minutes of the second half.

Carlos Fernández

A. Sørloth

62' Real Sociedad make their first change as Fernandez comes on for Sorloth.

61' Real Sociedad win a corner, but the ball is straight into the hands of Patricio.

60' Real Sociedad have committed 15 fouls in this match, higher than their season average of 14 in the UEFA Europa League.

57' It's getting nervy now as Real Sociedad push for the two goals that they need. The referee is speaking to both managers and several of the players due to the abundance of fouls happening on the pitch.

54' Silva lays off a clever pass to Rico, who crosses it in for Mendez. The ball goes out for a corner that Roma eventually clear.

52' Rico is in disbelief after he gets called for a foul on Zalewski, who dramatically falls on the edge of his own box.

50' Real Sociedad have attempted the last 5 shots in this game as Roma's last shot was taken by Dybala in the 15th minute.

48' CHANCE FOR REAL SOCIEDAD! It's a powerful header from Sorloth, who is completely unmarked in the box, but it's wide!

47' Roma have stopped the opposition from scoring a first-half goal in 7 of their 10 games, no team has done this more in the UEFA Europa League this season. They have also failed to score a first-half goal in 6 of their 10 games, only Union Berlin (7) have failed to score more often in the UEFA Europa League this season.

46' We're back for the second half!

Should it remain 0-0, Roma will advance to the quarter-finals of the Europa League for the first time since 2021.

Real Sociedad have been the better side in the first half, but they have nothing to show for it at the moment, and they need at least two goals to advance. Roma have been happy to disrupt play and commit fouls as they look to maintain their 2-0 aggregate advantage. Just on the brink of half-time, the visitors thought they had scored, but Smalling had handled the ball before it went in, and VAR chalked it off.

45' + 5' HALF-TIME: REAL SOCIEDAD 0-0 AS ROMA (0-2 on aggregate)

45' + 4' Gorosabel has attempted 5 crosses in this game, more than any other player on either team (ahead of Merino - 2 crosses).

45' + 2' NO GOAL! VAR rules that Smalling touched the ball with his hand, and therefore the goal won't stand!

45' + 1' GOAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!! FROM A CORNER, CHRIS SMALLING SCORES THE OPENER! Right before the corner, the referee had to go over to speak to those in the box due to all the pushing and shoving, but somehow Smalling made his way through all the blue and white shirts to score the goal from close range. But wait... we're getting a VAR check!

45' We're getting at least five minutes of added time in this half.

44' Roma have not had a shot on target so far in this game.

N. Zalewski

R. Karsdorp

41' Zalewski replaces the injured Karsdorp.

40' Karsdorp comes off, for the time being, the yellow towel he is holding to his face now covered in blood. He will likely be substituted off shortly.

Diego Rico

Yellow Card

39' Rico is booked after his shoulder hits the face of Karsdorp. The Roma player is down and getting treatment.

37' Karsdorp is down, clutching his foot after him and Rico collide after going for the ball. He gets up while limping, but will continue.

35' Roma have progressed from all five of their previous two-legged ties in the knockout stages of the UEFA Europa League when winning the first leg, with one of those being a 4-1 aggregate victory over Spanish side Villarreal in 2016-17.

31' Another chance for Real Sociedad! This time, Merino has a go from right outside the box, but it's straight at Patricio.

29' After some good passing from the hosts, Mendez takes a shot from the right side of the box, but it is an easy save for Patricio, who crouches down to gather the ball in his hands.

26' Dybala goes down again, this time being fouled by Merino.

24' Dybala goes down after a foul by Rico. Tensions are getting high in this match.

23' The corner leads to Rico taking a shot that's wildly off-target. Mourinho is also seen arguing with the fourth official on the sidelines.

22' Real Sociedad go forward, and Silva puts a cross in. Roma defends it well and concede a corner.

20' Jose Mourinho has only lost two of his 16 games in the knockout stages of the UEFA Europa League (W11 D3), although those two defeats have come in the last two away games in the knockout rounds – Spurs 0-3 Dinamo Zagreb in March 2021 and Roma 0-1 Salzburg in February this season.

G. Mancini

Yellow Card

17' Mancini gets a yellow card after he deliberately pulls the shirt of a Sociedad player. He tries to argue with the referee which is likely what gets him the booking.

15' BIG CHANCE FOR ROMA! After a delay in taking the free-kick, Roma take it short. It ends up near the feet of Dybala, who takes a low, one-time shot. It's deflected just wide off the far post.

Zubeldia

Yellow Card

13' Zubeldia is booked after tripping Spinazzola right outside the box. He will miss the next match as a result.

9' Good effort from Real Sociedad! Merino wins the ball high up the pitch and crosses it in for Sorloth, but the striker just can't get a shot off.

R. Karsdorp

Yellow Card

6' Karsdorp is booked for a foul on Pellegrini.

5' It has become an aggressive match, as Ibanez being fouled by Silva earns from boos from the home crowd, who don't agree with the referee's decision.

3' Roma win an early free-kick on the right that goes out for a corner. The ball is smacked away by Remiro, and lands to Wijnaldum, whose shot goes over the bar.

2' Mendez has created 16 chances for a teammate in the UEFA Europa League this season, more than twice as many as any other Real Sociedad player (Robert Navarro, 7). His team will need him to be at his best if they are to advance.

1' The referee has blown the whistle, and we're off!

The teams are out of the tunnel, and we'll be underway shortly!

Half of Real Sociedad’s goals conceded in the UEFA Europa League came in the first leg against Roma (2/4), while their xG against total of 1.97 was more than in their previous five games in the competition combined.

Lorenzo Pellegrini has seemingly recovered from the head injury that he sustained last week and is back in the starting eleven. Andrea Belotti also returns following a hand injury, and Roger Ibanez has now completed his suspension and makes the first eleven.

Real Sociedad have been given a boost today with the inclusion of David Silva, who made a return in their starting XI last week after missing six games with a calf issue.

SUBS: Tammy Abraham, Mehmet Zeki Celik, Mady Camara, Marash Kumbulla, Edoardo Bove, Nicola Zalewski, Cristian Volpato, Pietro Boer, Benjamin Tahirovic, Stephan El Shaarawy, Mile Svilar.

AS ROMA (3-5-1-1): Rui Patricio, Gianluca Mancini, Chris Smalling, Ibanez; Leonardo Spinazzola, Georginio Wijnaldum, Bryan Cristante, Lorenzo Pellegrini, Rick Karsdorp; Paulo Dybala; Andrea Belotti.

SUBS: Alex Sola, Asier Illarramendi, Ander Barrenetxea, Carlos Fernandez, Mohamed-Ali Cho, Aihen Munoz, Andoni Zubiaurre, Takefusa Kubo, Ander Guevara, Robert Navarro, Jon Pacheco, Benat Turrientes.

REAL SOCIEDAD (4-3-1-2): Alex Remiro; Diego Rico, Robin Le Normand, Igor Zubeldia, Andoni Gorosabel; Mikel Merino, MartIn Zubimendi, Brais Mendez; David Silva; Mikel Oyarzabal, Alexander Sorloth.

Real Sociedad trail by two goals after last week's first leg against Roma in Rome and face a challenging task ahead of them if they want to eliminate Jose Mourinho's side from the competition.

Hello and welcome to the live commentary of the Europa League round-of-16 second-leg match between Real Sociedad and AS Roma at the Anoeta Stadium.

Real Sociedad v Roma Live Commentary, 16/03/2023

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