AC Milan and AS Roma face off in a domestic battle. Olivier Giroud and Romelu Lukaku will battle it out for goals.
At 21:00 UTC on Friday, UEFA held the draw for the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final of the 2023-2024 UEFA Europa League in Nyon, Switzerland. The draw for the final was made to distinguish between home and away teams for matches played at neutral venues.
Milan and Roma meet in the quarterfinals. Milan participated in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) this season, but finished third in Group F behind Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund, dropping them to the Europa League. In the Europa League, they advanced to the round of 16 via playoffs, where they defeated Slavia Prague in the round of 16 by a combined score of 7-3 in the first and second leg.
Coincidentally, Roma finished second in Group G in the Europa League this season, behind Slavia Prague, and had to play a round of 16 playoff. They met Feyenoord in the playoffs, where they reached the round of 16 after a penalty shootout, and then comfortably defeated Brighton & Hove Albion 4-1 on aggregate in the first and second leg.
Milan and Roma are in very different situations. Milan are in their fifth season under Stefano Pioli. They are currently in second place in the league, which is not as good as it sounds. They”re a whopping 16 points off the top of the Serie A table. They lost 2-4 to mid-table Monza and dropped out of the Coppa Italia after losing to Atalanta. Fans are worried that they won’t be able to progress any further.
Roma have parted ways with manager Jose Mourinho after three seasons together. The club struggled this season, slipping to ninth in the league, and sacked Mourinho after a loss to Milan. The coach brought in as a fireman was Roma legend Daniele De Rossi. As if his utter failure at SPAL was a learning experience, De Rossi took over at Roma and played an attacking style of football that utilized his star players, winning eight, drawing two and losing two in 12 games. The team finished fifth in the league standings.
The matchup between Milan and Roma will serve as a barometer of where both teams are at. The matchup between Chelsea strikers Giroud and Lukaku will be particularly interesting.
Giroud has matured like a wine with age and has been leading the team this season. His physicality and skillful link-up play in the post is a boon to the likes of 토토사이트 Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, and Raphael Varane, who are all capable of finding the back of the net. With 12 goals in the league alone, he is third overall behind Lautaro Martinez (23 goals, Inter) and Dusan Blahovic (15 goals, Juventus). He also leads the league in assists with eight.
Compared to Giroud, Lukaku’s influence on the team is definitely less. The ace is Paulo Dybala, who has 12 goals and seven assists in the league alone. Still, Lukaku is the king of the Europa League. Lukaku leads the team in goals and offensive points in the Europa League with seven goals and one assist. In the Europa League as a whole, he is second only to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (9 goals). It’s impossible to talk about this match without mentioning Lukaku, who has also revitalized his game under De Rossi with four goals and two assists.
Both players are Chelsea alumni, but the difference is that Giroud had a beautiful farewell with the Blues, lifting the UCL in his final season, while Lukaku’s terrible press play has isolated him from the team. We’ll find out on April 12 and 19 which of these two players will lead their teams to victory.