Daniele De Rossi expressed that he shares a ‘fantastic’ bond with Romelu Lukaku but emphasizes that he embraced all Roma players following their victory on penalties against Feyenoord in the second leg of the Europa League knockout playoff.
Roma secured a spot in the Europa League Round of 16 on Thursday after prevailing in a penalty shootout against Feyenoord at the Stadio Olimpico.
De Rossi exchanged hugs with Lukaku in front of the Curva Sud after the tense penalty shootout, and the moment has circulated widely on social media platforms in Italy. Despite the Belgian striker missing a penalty kick, Roma clinched the victory with two crucial saves from goalkeeper Mile Svilar.
“I have a wonderful relationship with him [Lukaku],” De Rossi conveyed during a post-match press conference.
“I didn’t know him too well, but he’s a great professional. He ran so much and when he sprinted at minute 121, he could have brought us to the Round of 16. To end it like this was more thrilling, even if it would have been better for him to end it after 120 minutes. You saw the hug because it was shown on TV, but I hugged all the other players in the same way. I am starting to love these guys.”
🫂El abrazo liberador entre Romelu Lukaku y Daniele De Rossi.#ASRoma #RomaFeyenoord pic.twitter.com/OnWnu3deoQ
— Planeta Roma 🎙 (@Planeta_Roma) February 23, 2024
Romelu Lukaku
Romelu Lukaku Menama
BelgiumThis season he played in total 8 times for 707 minutes for Europa League.
Romelu Lukaku scored 6 goals for Roma. He procured one assist. He received no yellow cards and no red cards.
His team is currently 6th in Europa League. In the last match Roma won 3-0 against Frosinone.
Roma performance and stats
Roma
Roma is currently 2nd in the Europa League with 13 points.
In the last 7 games, it has won 4 times, drawn twice, and lost once. In its last match, Roma drawn 1-1 against Feyenoord.
It has a positive goal difference after scoring 12 goals and conceding 4.
