AC Milan will take on Roma in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final tie at San Siro on Thursday night, and it promises to be a fascinating contest.
Milan made it seven wins in a row across all competitions with a 3-0 victory against Lecce at San Siro yesterday, with Christian Pulisic, Olivier Giroud and Rafael Leao all getting their name on the scoresheet.
Meanwhile, Roma beat Lazio in the evening kick-off as Gianluca Mancini’s header from a Paulo Dybala corner proved enough to give De Rossi a victory on his Derby della Capitale debut as a head coach.
Roma have been resurgence under the former midfielder, but they go into the European tie 13 points behind Milan in the league, something which makes the Rossoneri favourites. If you are looking to attend, check out how to get Europa League tickets for Milan.
Familiar opposition
There are few teams that Milan have played more than Roma in their history, given that both have been in the top flight of Italian football for almost all of the past 100 years.
De Rossi was interview by DAZN after the game was asked about the immediate future for him and his side, namely the first of two matches with Milan in the Europa League quarter-finals scheduled for Thursday evening at 21:00 CEST at San Siro.
“I have my staff who forbid me from watching the teams we will face next time, there is this agreement and for now it has worked,” he said.
“I know Milan. We’ve seen them 1000 times and we’ll be preparing it from this evening, but a little lighter, a little more relaxed.”
Milan ambassador Daniele Massaro has stated that the Europa League now represents the ‘primary objective’ for the club, while the game against Roma will be separate to anything that has come before in the league.
“We know our opponent well. There were Italian teams, there was this danger. It will be another match because we are not in the league, but in a European competition.”
The numbers
Taking a look at the head-to-head statistics, it’s clear that Milan have done better in this fixture in recent years. Roma have not won against the Rossoneri since 2019, that is nine league games, and Pioli’s men are also unbeaten in the last six home games against the Giallorossi.
At the beginning of 2024, Milan beat Roma 3-1 at San Siro to take what was another big step forward in the pursuit of a top four spot, and three Frenchman got on the scoresheet.
The clash before that between these two sides at San Siro ended 2-2, following a late comeback from Roma who looked out of the game prior to that. It was the start of a very tough period for Milan, who dominated the affair until that first goal from Mourinho’s side.
Interestingly enough, Mourinho was also in the stands for that game due to a suspension. He is not longer there, so it will be up to De Rossi to keep the charge going.
