Jose Mourinho’s side returned to the scene of their most significant humiliation of recent years, the Aspmyra Stadion in Bodo, Norway, where they were beaten 6-1 by Bodo/Glimt in the UEFA Europa Conference League earlier this season. The second fixture between the two had ended in a 2-2 draw in Rome, and, as it turned out, the Giallorossi would endure another difficult outing against a familiar foe.
Bodo started well at one end, and at the other, goalkeeper Nikita Khaikhin made a couple of simple stops to deny Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Tammy Abraham the chance to put Roma ahead. However, Roma broke the deadlock in the 43rd minute through captain Lorenzo Pellegrini; played in with a deft flick by Mkhitaryan, the Italian smashed the ball into the roof of the net from a tight angle.
The Norwegian outfit got back into the game with a huge slice of luck. In the 56th minute, Brice Wembangono’s long-range effort deflected off his teammate Ulrik Saltnes and beat a wrong-footed Rui Patricio in goal.
To make matters worse for Jose and company, Bodo stole a win late on when Hugo Vetlesen’s header bounced off Matias Vina and crawled past a hapless Patricio in goal. Roma lost again and will have to overturn a minor deficit next week at the Olimpico if they wish to move onwards in the competition.
Elsewhere, poor finishing at both ends meant Leicester City and PSV Eindhoven played out a goalless draw. Mario Gotze and Kelechi Iheanacho wasted one-on-ones at either end of the pitch while Harvey Barnes rattled the bar on the stroke of half-time, as neither side was able to break the deadlock.
Meanwhile, Olympique Marseille defeated PAOK 2-1, thanks to Dimitri Payet’s long-range wondergoal in the 45th minute. The Frenchmen added to the advantage Gerson had provided Marseille in the 13th minute by slamming a volley into the roof of the net from outside the box.
PAOK pulled a goal back through Omar El Kaddouri in the 48th minute, opening up the tie ahead of the return leg.
