Feyenoord 1-0 Roma: Wieffer decides dramatic Europa League quarter-final first leg

Mats Wieffer's long-range volley gave Feyenoord a 1-0 advantage after their UEFA Europa League quarter-final first leg, edging to victory against a Roma side who lost key players to injury and twice hit the woodwork from Lorenzo Pellegrini's penalty and Roger Ibañez's deflected header.

Match in brief: Feyenoord edge to victory

Roma goalkeeper Justin Bijlow breathes a sigh of relief after Lorenzo Pellegrini's penalty hits a postGetty Images

These sides were separated by the only goal of last season's inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League final, and a tight, tense encounter developed again during the early stages at a boisterous De Kuip, where the unfortunate Paulo Dybala was forced off with an early injury for the visitors.

Neither goalkeeper was troubled until Feyenoord's Mats Wieffer was adjudged to have conceded a penalty two minutes before the break. Lorenzo Pellegrini fired his spot kick beyond the dive of Justin Bijlow and against the goalkeeper's right-hand post, the ball bouncing away to home relief.

Pellegrini was replaced by former Feyenoord midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum at the break, but it was the home side who took the lead within ten minutes of the restart. Wieffer drilled a volley from distance past Rui Patrício, the chance created by Oussama Idrissi's electric run.

Fortune was not kind to Roma, who lost Tammy Abraham to a shoulder injury before hitting the woodwork again when Roger Ibañez's header was diverted against the underside of the bar and out by Idrissi. Feyenoord exacted a measure of revenge from last season's disappointment, yet Roma will feel more twists await in this tie.

Derek Brookman, Feyenoord reporter

Arne Slot's men rode their luck on a couple of occasions, but ultimately they can't be begrudged this victory. They were tenacious in the tackle, composed in possession and patient in the build-up. The goal was the result of two excellent bits of skill by Idrissi and Wieffer. And, above all, they showed that they can go toe-to-toe with one of Serie A's leading sides. Onwards to Rome!

Francesco Corda, Roma reporter

The Italian side will have to look for a comeback victory in a week's time at the Stadio Olimpico to reach the semi-finals. The Giallorossi were beaten by Wieffer's wonderful volley, but José Mourinho's team will rue their luck after Pellegrini's penalty and Ibañez's header against the crossbar.

Reaction 

Feyenoord's De Kuip home looks picturesque in the sunshine as the hosts force successive early cornersGetty Images

Arne Slot, Feyenoord coach: "We experienced the strength of Roma today – especially during the last 20 minutes. They will be supported in their own stadium by 70,000 people in the second leg. The atmosphere in our stadium tonight was great. The fans really supported us a lot."

Mats Wieffer, Feyenoord midfielder: "It's unbelievable. I really dreamed of this. It's really special for me, and I'm really happy to score. Things are going very fast for me at the moment. The coach said during the break that we'd played well, but that we should switch sides more often. That would create opportunities to go with the wingers and for our full-backs to overlap. The first 15 minutes of the second half were a bit better, but we dropped off after we scored."

José Mourinho, Roma coach: "The boys made a lot of effort and sacrifice. We had the opportunity for a different result, but this is the reality. We lost the first leg 1-0. We have difficulties and we don't have the capacity to rotate the squad much. We'll probably lose Abraham and Dybala for the next two games. We are who we are, and we will have the Olimpico for the second leg."

Gianluca Mancini, Roma defender: "You must have personality to stand on the penalty spot and Pellegrini has it. He hit the post today, but he has scored a lot, too. You can miss penalties. The match was hard fought. In the first 12 minutes of the second half, Feyenoord put us under pressure, but after that we controlled the game."

Nicola Zalewski, Roma defender: "We played a good game from all points of view. These matches are decided on fine margins and today there were two: the missed penalty and their goal. We are good at bouncing back from these defeats. We know how strong we are; we can go all the way in this competition."

Key stats

• Feyenoord are unbeaten in their last 13 European matches in Rotterdam, winning 11.
• Slot's side have lost only one of their last seven UEFA Europa League matches (W4 D3).
• Their defeat by Roma in the Europa Conference League final is their only loss in their last nine UEFA club competition knockout phase matches (W5 D4).
• The Dutch club have scored in all but one of their last 24 home European matches.
• Roma have won all five previous knockout ties against opponents from the Netherlands.
• Wieffer's goal was the first Roma have conceded in their last four Europa League matches.

Line-ups

Feyenoord: Bijlow; Geertruida, Trauner, Hancko, Hartman; Orkun Kökçü, Wieffer, Szymański; Jahanbakhsh (Danilo Pereira 71), Gimenez (Lopez 82), Idrissi (Paixão 64)

Roma: Rui Patricio; Zalewski, Mancini, Smalling, Ibañez; Dybala (El Shaarawy 26), Cristante, Pellegrini (Wijnaldum 46), Matić, Spinazzola (Zeki Çelik 84); Abraham (Belotti 58)