Roma have won their first ever major UEFA competition thanks to a marvellous bit of skill from Nicolò Zaniolo in Tirana, beating Feyenoord 1-0 in the Conference League Final.

The Giallorossi recovered Henrikh Mkhitaryan after several weeks out and opted to use him, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Nicolò Zaniolo to support Tammy Abraham at the National Arena in Tirana. Feyenoord got goalkeeper Justin Bijlow back after two months and had Conference League top scorer Cyril Dessers upfront.

Mkhitaryan was a big gamble with only one training session with the team before this Final, but he only lasted 16 minutes before having to make way for Sergio Oliveira with a recurrence of that muscular issue.

It was a very even game, but Roma broke through with two moments of great skill and vision. Gianluca Mancini floated a ball over the top, which Zaniolo chested down and then flicked over the on-rushing goalkeeper from seven yards off the outside of the boot.

Liveblog: Conference League Final Roma vs. Feyenoord

Rui Patricio got away with a rather wobbly attempt to parry the long-range Orkun Kokcu effort, while Mancini flung himself in the way to block a Reiss Nelson strike.

Feyenoord started the second half very aggressively and had a double chance on a corner, first Gernot Trauner flicking a low cross onto the upright from point-blank range, then Rui Patricio making a reaction save on Guus Til. There was a VAR silent check for potential Bryan Cristante handball, but no need for an on-field review.

Moments later, Rui Patricio had to palm a ferocious Tyrell Malacia strike onto the frame of the goal.

It was a fiery period of the game, Tammy Abraham furious Marco Senesi held him back with two hands grabbing an arm as he was going clear on goal, but the referee and VAR waved play on. It could easily have been a red card.

Chris Smalling made another great block on Kocku and was fortunate after a slip that Dessers couldn’t take advantage, while Jordan Veretout’s deflected attempt forced a tricky save from Bijlow.

Smalling charged down Dessers after a rare Roger Ibanez error and Rick Karsdorp was struggling with a muscular issue in the final 10 minutes.

Pellegrini’s angled drive forced a save at the near post after he was sent clear by a smart through ball.

Roma 1-0 Feyenoord

Zaniolo 32 (R)

18 thought on “Conference League Final | Roma 1-0 Feyenoord: Zaniolo wins first European trophy”
  1. Congratulations, Roma! I am truly happy to see you take this historic trophy home. Well deserved after a long and difficult season. Now build on this and I am looking forward to see what you can achieve next season and beyond. Enjoy!
    Forza Milan!

  2. Catenaccio rears its ugly head again. Horrifically ugly performance by Roma who spent 94 and half minutes of that game defending on the edge of their penalty area. I feel very much for Feyenoord who deserved the trophy five times over. Sometimes it just isn’t your day, but to lose to that monstrosity….horrendous.

  3. Cheer up, Rosario!

    Leave your bitterness elsewhere lol. You couldn’t care less for Feyenoord – you just didn’t want Roma to win.

    Finally a European trophy (albeit a small one) for an Italian side after years of abject failures by the two Milans, Juve, Napoli, and the rest.

    For once, Roma or a Serie A side didn’t bottle it.

  4. At Rosario, there is only one stat that counts and that’s the score line. Not Roma’s fault that Feyenoord couldn’t score. Did Roma play well no, not alt all especially in the second half . I have to admit but to win and not play well in a European final regardless of level. Shows the true Strength of a team. Was they lucky yes totally but you need a bit of luck to win, but then you make your own luck. So stop trying to down play someone’s else’s achievements, just shows you up to be a bit of an idiot and that’s putting it politely.

  5. @Roma

    of course I detest them but I’m not playing down their achievement’ of winning the Europa petri dish conference meeting cup! The fact is they didn’t deserve to win! Feyenoord with their youthful vibrance and progressive play dominated a dire team who were literally scared to play!

  6. @ferban.

    It isn’t about being bitter! I can’t stand Roma! But if they’d actually deserved to win, then credit where credit is due! But they didn’t! Woeful advert for serie a with the anti footballing ‘genius’ once again turning into a coward and parking the bus from a team of kids!

  7. @Cazario

    HA HA HA HA HA HA go crow about your 1 point to someone who cares! We won the cup! Forza Magica! Cant wait to see what Mou is going to do next year!

  8. At the start I predicted that neither Roma nor Tottenham would get to the semis. I believed facing unsung, unusual, highly motivated teams in exotic settings (blizzards, artificial gras s…) would be too much. I was wrong.
    I didn’t take into account that Mourinho would prioritise European cup (less money) over domestic league (more money). But it makes perfect sense that he’d rather win a (memorable, everlasting) trophy than get a (forgettable) fourth place.

    Thank you Ceferin for creating this cool tournament.

    Thank you Mourinho & Roma. You made Italy proud.

    Thank you FI for the great build up to the Finals.

    After the game I glanced FI’s Liveblog. Surprisingly, there were a lot of tifosi from other Serie A clubs who cheered for Roma. MY HAT’S OFF TO YOU!
    I also want to thank all the haters who restrained themselves from posting on the Liveblog, allowing Romanisti to enjoy our moment.

    Now, let’s see what kind of Juventus-related news Tuttosport will conjure to overshadow Roma’s win! 🙂

  9. @cazario

    No one cares, you guys were celebrating the 1 point, we celebrate the cup! I always wonder why do you guys comment so much on Roma articles, I occasionally check, ZERO comments on the Lazio articles. You guys are deranged, you care more about us than your own team.

    And well you should be concerned for next year, the Friedkins have a project thats only just beginning!

  10. Dear Milanisti (sans Rosario),
    Thank you for your nice wishes!
    (You guys must still be in a “bliss state” from your Scudetto win, going around forgiving your exes, giving money to strangers & whistling to the birds. LOL)
    Enjoy your happiness. Your title was fully deserved. Even after losing Gigio & Hakan, then later Kjaer, you managed to win with a team that Roma or Napoli could’ve as$embled. Your Scudetto was truly an inspirational & admirable feat. Congrats!

  11. @Rosario…

    1. Normally, I’m with you on at least 80% of your comments. Auguri to Milan for winning the scudetto. This was important for the RossoNeri.

    2. Winning a championship of any kind or at least advancing deep into the elimination rounds of any tournament should take precedence over style.

    3. Ideally, winning with what most might consider stylish futball is preferred. However, some, like myself, also enjoy a good old fashioned win with grinta. There is, in fact, value to winning ugly, as well. Roma played very good defense leading up to this final. Sometimes, a team just plays to their strengths.

    4. How many times do SeriA teams and our Nzionale-men, women, and youth-teams get screwed by biased UEFA and FiFA officiating. Plenty and more than I can remember. For example, if a Roma player committed the same kind of foul on a Feyenoord player that was suffered by Abraham, I guarantee Roma would have received at least a yellow card, in addition to a possible Feyenoord penalty. However, no call was made against Feyenoord for the clear foul on Abraham.

    5. Pellegrini gets a yellow for “dissent” toward the closing minutes of the game. A 2nd example of anti Italian UEFA officiating bias.

    So, it’s justice served that Roma won ugly as a small reparation for the continued insufferable, biased officiating Italy faces in Europe and by FiFA.

  12. Oh the man is clinging to typos… Rosario, you’re pathetic, your lack of arguments is so sad… I feel pity for you, honestly.

    Well, as I said before: SCOUNDREL, RABBLE.

  13. @ Rosario, what is your problem? serie a fans all over the world are happy and joyous fir the first time since 2010. and you’re fighting over and backing up ibra who doesn’t know you. kick hate aside. Congratulations once again Roma.

  14. Congrats to Roma fans. Finally a European trophy for an Italian club after more than a decade and guess who? It’s Mourinho again
    Tired of watching EPL and La liga teams sweeping all the trophies. I wish serie A teams more luck in 2020s compared to 2010s.

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