Jose Mourinho’s Roma will take on Leicester City for a place in the Europa League final, after the Italians finally rose to the Bodo/Glimt challenge and Ricardo Pereira put the Foxes through to their first-ever European semi-final.

Mourinho’s Roma beat foes Norway 4-0 at the Stadio Olimpico to book their place in the last four, but Leicester’s win was more dramatic as a late comeback in the Netherlands against PSV ended with the historical winner of Ricardo.

Both encounters were well prepared heading into the second leg, with Roma edging Norway’s Bodo/Glimt 2-1 after the first encounter in Scandinavia. The teams were paired in the group stage earlier this season, where Bodo inflicted an embarrassing 6-1 defeat at the Giallorossi before earning a 1-1 draw in the Italian capital.

After suffering another frustrating result in the third clash last week amid controversy over a physical altercation between Bodo manager Kjetil Knutsen and Roma goalkeeping coach Nuno Santos, Mourinho remained confident . “We have the second leg to play at the Olimpico in front of our fans and I have no problem saying now that I think we are the favorites to reach the semi-final,” Mourinho said last week.

The home crowd in the Italian capital provided the kind of atmosphere Mourinho has grown accustomed to, with hundreds of flags being waved before the game as supporters made their voices heard. On the pitch, Roma responded with goals, netting three times in half an hour thanks to a brace from Tammy Abraham and Nicolo Zaniolo to put them 4-2 on aggregate at half-time.

Zaniolo scored his hat-trick just minutes after the restart to essentially kill the tie, as Mourinho made history by becoming the manager to reach the most European semi-finals with 11 appearances. Mourinho is closely followed on the list by Alex Ferguson and Jupp Heynckes who have both reached the final 10 times.

“Being in the semi-finals is the most important thing, but the way we played from the first minute with high pressure, intensity, quality of play at the back, we all felt the game was the ours even at 2-0,” Mourinho told Sky Sport Italia.

“Even after the first leg where we lost 2-1, I always had the feeling that we were superior. We are a stronger team, it’s frankly unacceptable. We only managed to beat this team at the fourth attempt, but it was the most important. It was 2-1 for them, it ended 5-2 for us.

Ricardo the hero of historic Leicester night

Roma’s semi-final opponent will be Leicester City, who qualified for a European semi-final for the first time in their history thanks to a winner from Ricardo Pereira. The English side beat PSV Eindhoven 2-1 in the Netherlands with a superb late comeback to book their place in the last four, marking a memorable achievement for Brendan Rodgers’ side.

The first leg ended in a 1-1 draw in England, but for much of the second leg the home crowd appeared to cheer their side to victory as PSV led for most of the game thanks to Eran Zahavi’s 27.^e-minute strike. Leicester needed a goal to level the aggregate score and potentially extend the game, and James Maddison produced it in the 77th minute with a clean finish.

As PSV looked nervous in the final minutes, the visitors took their chance to press for a winner and it came with less than three minutes remaining. Ricardo Pereira, who started the game at right-back, found himself on hand to sweep up a rebound after Ademola Lookman’s effort was saved, giving the Portuguese his first-ever goal in Europe hero status for his team.

You want both, you’ll get both! 😎

First of all, our #UECL game winner, @ricbpereira 🤳 https://t.co/dMwoZfK6d1 pic.twitter.com/7pdq3W0ML5

– Leicester City (@LCFC) April 14, 2022

By Sean Gillen

@SeanGillen16

Leicester’s run to the Europa Conference League semi-finals means it’s still “a decent season”, in the eyes of former Everton midfielder Leon Osman.

Brendan Rodgers’ side have struggled for consistency in the Premier League and are behind for a European spot with nine games remaining.

But Victory against PSV on Thursday sealed the Foxes’ first European semi-final and is fueling the dream of securing a Europa League spot next season.

“Leicester have had such an upward curve over the last few seasons and it’s almost impossible to sustain that,” Osman told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily podcast.

“There would always have been a dip, but they reached the semi-finals of a European competition. They had excitement and, if they can win it, it will make this season a very good one.”

BBC Radio 5 Live commentator Conor McNamara was with Osman in Holland to watch Leicester come from behind to progress and he agreed, saying the competition could “do its season”.

“Domestically, it’s been a disappointment,” he said. “They’re a team that are used to being in the Champions League, but that keeps their heads held high.”

The full analysis of Leicester’s win is available from 23:50 on BBC Sounds

Jhere is a picture in the lobby of the remarkable Stormen Library, perched on the edge of the harbor in the cosmopolitan city of Bodø, which evokes the past of the Norwegian city. An old family photo shows an elderly couple from Nordland, but what isn’t immediately recognizable is the man’s Sami shoes, traditionally made from reindeer hide to cope with sub-zero temperatures. zero, were deliberately scribbled and hidden.

Bodø is one of the northernmost cities in the world – it’s 200km north of the Arctic Circle and one of the best places to see the Northern Lights – and although skrei cod fishing is the currency history of the region, it now has a modest football club. turning heads on the European stage with the equivalent of a healthy Ligue 1 budget.

Bodø/Glimt are riding the crest of a wave and travel to Rome on Thursday hoping to advance to the Europa Conference League semi-finals after a 2-1 first leg victory in a thorny tie on their artificial ground.

UEFA are investigating clashes between coaches long after the final whistle, which could lead to the suspension of Bodø head coach Kjetil Knutsen and Roma goalkeeping coach Nuno Santos, but that humility was another remarkable chapter in an extraordinary story. Bodø are looking for a hat-trick of wins against Roma this season, having beaten them 6-1 earlier in the competition, the heaviest defeat of José Mourinho’s career.

Bodø was barred from playing in Norway’s national top division until 1972, with northern Norwegians more than geographically isolated from society (the nearest major towns are at least nine and a half hours away); northern Norwegians struggled to book hotels in the south. Bodø won the Norwegian Cup three years later – the members of this team meet almost every morning for coffee – and are linked to the region. These days, Bodø fans bring giant yellow toothbrushes to matches as a response to southern Norwegians teasing them about their teeth.

“The only thing I could really compare it to on a European level is maybe some of the beliefs of the Basque region or Catalonia in Spain,” says Gregg Broughton, director of the Bodø academy who sits on the committee. of club management. “We have to remember that and accept it. We have to be really, really brave, out front and proud to be from northern Norway.

The team spent a week of their summer on the picturesque Lofoten Islands, where locals recently partied to celebrate the end of the cod fishing season, playing a few practice matches to further immerse the club in its community. “Living here in northern Norway was very, very difficult and unless you worked hard you wouldn’t have survived here before,” says Broughton.

“It’s one of the roughest seas in the world, so if you didn’t pick the right moment and seize the moment your life was in danger, but if you did , your family will be able to live for the rest of the year. We must have this in our DNA. Cod exports run down the west coast to Bergen, the major trading city where the fish is sent across Europe. Salmon farming is now also very important in northern Norway.

Bodø have won the league for the past two seasons and will enter the Champions League first qualifying round in July. The calendar year started with a victory at Celtic in February and next week they could secure a place in the Norwegian Cup final. Bodø’s most recent accounts detail a record turnover of €18 million, helped by television revenue and player sales; Roma is about 10 times higher.

Bodø also seamlessly replaced major cogs. Prolific strikers Philip Zinckernagel, Kasper Junker and Erik Botheim have left in the past 18 months, Zinckernagel for Watford and Ola Solbakken, who made his Norway debut in November, could be next. Academy graduate Mathias Normann, now on loan at Norwich, was their first notable sale to Brighton in 2017, and Patrick Berg, whose father, grandfather and uncles played for Bodø, and Jens Petter Hauge were since moved to Lens and Milan respectively.

Bodø’s wage bill is €5m (£4.15m) and their top earners fetch around the same as their counterparts in Wigan or Wycombe, in England’s third tier . “The funny thing about Norway is that everyone’s tax records are released every year so you can see what everyone earns, so there’s no point trying to make fun of anyone in the locker room,” Broughton said. “The budget is tiny, tiny, tiny and that’s what makes the achievement so huge. You’re definitely not going to come here for the money, you’re definitely not going to come here for the weather, but you’re going to come here if you are serious about career development.

Fish much bigger than Bodø could learn a thing or two about their holistic approach. They don’t flip-flop in the face of adversity – they bounced back from relegation just five years ago – and focus on performance, with mental coach Bjørn Mannsverk, a former fighter pilot who served in Afghanistan and Libya. , spokesperson for the players and the staff.

Broughton says, “He told the leadership team, ‘By the way, you might not get the answers you want.’ They said, ‘Well, what do you mean?’ He said: “If I make the group of players open up to me, they might say, ‘We have to change head coaches or I don’t want to be a footballer anymore. Are you ready for these answers? It was probably a ‘wow’ moment for us.

Broughton, who earned his UEFA professional license alongside Graham Potter and Nemanja Matic, is part of the club’s England staff, which includes chief medical officer Mike Brown and three physiotherapists. Tom Dent, who started as an Under-16 coach, left last year and is now an assistant at Hamarkameratene, and Dan Leivers, a youth coach, recently left to become Notts County academy manager . For Broughton, who joined Bodø in 2017 and previously coached Ben Chilwell at Rushden & Diamonds, James Justin at Luton and Max Aarons, Ben Godfrey and Jamal Lewis at Norwich, it was a rewarding experience.

“When an agent told me he was looking for an academy director, even though I had traveled a lot in Scandinavia, I didn’t know where Bodø was, so I looked at a map and thought to myself: “Okay, that’s pretty far north. .’ The scenery is absolutely stunning. In five minutes you can be in the desert. This is the only football club I know where you can walk to the airport.

Bodø is a European City of Culture for 2024 and the club plans to build an all-wooden stadium to mark the occasion. The club’s finest hour was against Roma in October, but they could still win on Thursday. “Mourinho had never lost 6-1 in his career,” Broughton said. “He’s the most organized manager in world football… to catch him off guard was unbelievable. It goes back to skrei fishing; when you have the moment, you have to grab it.

Leicester City came from behind to beat PSV Eindhoven 2-1 at Philips Stadium on Thursday night. A first-half goal from Eran Zahavi gave the hosts the lead, but strikes from James Maddison and Ricardo Pereira in the final quarter of the game saw the Foxes through to their first half. European final in club history.

Brendan Rodgers stuck to the lineup that dominated but drew against PSV a week ago at King Power: Kasper Schmeichel (C), Ricardo Pereira, Wesley Fofana, Jonny Evans, Timothy Castagne, James Maddison, Youri Tielemans, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Marc Albrighton, Harvey Barnes and Kelechi Iheanacho.

The match started exactly as the reverse match did in an almost odd way. Both teams ran the field with determination, but without the end product. The first chance fell on the hosts when Philipp Max crossed an unmarked Mario Götze at the far post. He volleyed powerfully from close range, but Schmeichel got a strong hand and flipped it over the bar.

A few minutes later, it was Leicester’s turn to miss a golden opportunity. Iheanacho’s through ball put Barnes one-on-one with PSV goalkeeper Yvon Mvogo. The winger tried to pass the ball inside the far post but got the wrong angle, putting it away with the well-beaten keeper.

Die Lampen took the lead on 27′ with plenty of help from City. Deep in his own half, Tielemans played a back pass directly to Götze. The German found Eran Zahavi on the straddle. It looked like a return ball, but the attacker fired from a tight angle instead. It took a slight deflection from Evans and left no chance for Schmeichel to make the save.

The Foxes responded well, winning an immediate corner. The ball bounced off Maddison, whose powerful effort was blocked but was still going to loop on the line before Jordan Teze cleared it with a bicycle kick. Next time on the pitch, Tielemans tried to redeem himself with a deep cross that found Castagne’s run, but the full-back could only steer from a tight angle.

Even though the match continued to be played at a blistering pace, neither team managed another threatening attack for the remainder of the half. Despite Leicester’s best efforts, they had yet to work on the keeper and it is extremely difficult to score without putting in a shot on target.

The gaffer made two half-time substitutions, dropping wingers Albrighton and Barnes in favor of Ademola Lookman and Patson Daka. The decision impacted the game exactly as one would expect, with Leicester having sacks of possession but looking vulnerable at the back.

PSV’s crowded defense proved a huge task to overcome. City took advantage of sacks in their opponents’ half but failed to find a way through the wall of red and white shirts. There was room behind at the break, and Daka had the chance to exploit it on the hour mark. A ball from deep inside Leicester’s half sent it back with only Mvogo to beat. Stop me if you heard this one but his weak effort beat the keeper but drifted just wide of the far post.

This marked the end of the Iheanacho/Daka partnership as Ayoze Perez replaced the Seniorman. It may seem like a curious choice, but apparently Brendan knows a bit about the game. Ayoze’s first big contribution was receiving a ball in the correct channel and keeping the ball in play, getting past a defender and putting it out for Madders, who hit home with a first effort.

Perez almost made two on 80′. Lookman sent a low cross from the right. The Spaniard rushed past the covering defender and turned the ball towards the net from an awkward angle. Mvogo did very well to pass the hand when it looked like he was going to force his way over the line.

It didn’t matter, though, as City took their first lead from the draw in the 88th of the second leg. The reverse ball from Dewsbury-Hall allowed Lookman to reach the goal. He opted to square it for Daka, whose shot lacked the power or placement to beat Mvogo. The keeper saved it but only parried it to Ricardo, who finished calmly from a tight angle.

Five minutes of time was added by the referee and, as the hosts huffed and puffed, they failed to fire a single shot in injury time. We left it late, as usual, but the Foxes were in the semis.

Not remotely humble or objective in my opinion, the Foxes were slightly the better side on both legs, but by all accounts it was a finely balanced tie. A better finish by either club would have put the result out of reach, but in the end it was Brendan Rodgers’ side who kept their cool and found the range when it mattered .

Now some might say that the presence of Wesley Fofana completely changes the complexion of this side of City. No wonder they support this, because they are absolutely right. He was in imperious form tonight and made countless critical interventions look effortless. I don’t know what release clause is in his new contract, but if it’s not nine figures, we’ve undervalued him.

This victory allows us to continue our historic journey in the Europa Conference League to the semi-finals. We will face the winner of Bodø/Glimt-Rome tied on April 28 and again on May 5. Next up is a trip to Tyneside to confront Newcastle on Sunday and then it’s off to liverpool to deal with Everton next Wednesday.

Leicester face Jose Mourinho’s Roma in a tantalizing Europa Conference League semi-final as the Italians avenge embarrassing group stage loss to Bodo/Glimt… with Marseille and Feyenoord also through

• Nicolo Zaniolo scored a hat-trick as Roma beat Bodo/Glimt 4-0 in Rome
• Jose Mourinho’s side were beaten 6-1 by the same opponents in the group stage
• Mourinho said humiliating the Norwegian team was not on his mind
• Leicester await Mourinho’s men in the semi-finals of the competition

By Liam Morgan for Mailonline and Pa Sport

Published: 7:28 p.m. EDT, April 14, 2022 | Update: 8:24 p.m. EDT, April 14, 2022

Jose Mourinho next faces Leicester after his Roma side beat Bodo/Glimt 4-0 to reach the Europa Conference League semi-finals.

Roma trailed 2-1 from the first leg but were in fine form at the Stadio Olimpico as they staged a meeting with Brendan Rogers’ Leicester in the last four.

Nicolo Zaniolo scored a hat-trick to seal a 5-2 aggregate win and Tammy Abraham, on loan from Chelsea, was also on course to take his tally for the campaign in Italy to 18 goals in all competitions.

Jose Mourinho’s Roma comfortably beat Bodo/Glimt to advance to the semi-finals

Nicolo Zaniolo was Roma’s hero as he scored a hat-trick in their 4-0 Roma win

The victory saw Roma avenge the embarrassing 6-1 defeat they suffered against the Norwegian side in the group stages in October.

“I think Roma are playing a lot better than people give us credit for,” Mourinho said.

“It’s too easy to say we have character, we’ve been unbeaten for a long time because we’re organised, but the truth is we’re playing a lot better than people say.”

“There was no doubt today. I told my team at half-time that it was not about humiliating the opponent, winning 6-1 like they did in Norway, but to reach the semi-final.

“Some fatigue set in later, of course, but the team deserved it, we are now 12 games in the Conference League and it is difficult to play on Thursdays and weekends, but we are here waving the Italian flag in Europe.”

Dimitri Payet was on target as Marseille booked their place in the semi-finals by beating PAOK

The first leg was marred by an altercation in which Bodo coach Kjetil Knutsen and Roma goalkeeping coach Nuno Santos were provisionally suspended.

Elsewhere, Dimitri Payet scored the only goal in Marseille’s win at PAOK to send the French side into the last four 3-1 on aggregate.

Feyenoord will be their opponent after Cyriel Dessers scored twice to inspire a 3-1 win at Slavia Prague and a 6-4 overall triumph.

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