With the Europa League quarter-finals all over, Roma and Fenerbahçe have sadly failed to reach the last eight. Roma were eliminated away by Athletic Bilbao, while Fenerbahçe lost on penalties to Glasgow Rangers, denying Mourinho a Europa League meeting with his former team.
In Roma’s match against Athletic Bilbao, Roma suffered a huge blow. Hummels was sent off for a serious foul after just 11 minutes, becoming the fastest visiting player to receive a red card in the Europa League since 2018. With a man down, Roma were unable to cope and lost the game 1-3, being knocked out by Athletic Bilbao 3-4 on aggregate.
Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahçe also suffered a setback in another one-eighth final. Despite the disadvantage of losing 2-0 at home in the first leg, Fenerbahçe won 2-0 away to level the aggregate score, but the game went to a brutal penalty shoot-out as neither side found anything to do in extra time. Fenerbahçe, however, struggled in the penalty shootouts, hitting only two of their five shots, with Tadic, Fred and Yandash missing penalties to end up out of the tournament.
After the game, the much-anticipated reunion between Roma and Mourinho failed to materialize. Mourinho’s success in charge of Roma was such that his departure and return to European competition were widely watched. Fate, however, does not seem to intend for him to go head to head with his old club in the Europa League.
The winners, Glasgow Rangers and Athletic Bilbao, will advance to the next round for a place in the semi-finals. These two teams have been impressive in the Europa League and they will continue to fight for glory. As for Roma and Fenerbahçe, although they failed to reach the last eight, their players and coaches have done their best and the fans will continue to support them in the future.
