FEDERICO GATTI HEADED home in the 97th minute to earn Juventus a 1-1 draw against Sevilla in their Europa League semi-final first leg.

Youssef En-Nesyri gave the record six-time champions the lead in the first half and they seemed set to take that advantage back to Seville before Gatti’s late intervention.

Moroccan international En-Nesyri finished a sharp counter-attack in the 26th minute to break the deadlock in Turin.

Jose Luis Mendilibar’s side deserved their lead at the break and although Juventus improved, the Andalucians seemed to have shut them out well to take an advantage back to the rowdy Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan next week.

However Gatti nodded home from point blank range after substitute Paul Pogba headed the ball back into his path.

Sevilla, who dumped Manchester United out in the quarter-finals, have never been knocked out of the tournament in the semi-final stage.

Mendilibar’s side started to impose themselves, with Lucas Ocampos playing a key role.

The Argentine winger, recalled from his loan at Ajax in January, sent a shot inches wide from close range, before making amends by setting up the opening goal.

Ocampos drove forward and played a low ball across the area, which Bryan Gil left for En-Nesyri to sweep home.

Sevilla were dealt a blow when Ocampos limped off injured shortly afterwards, but stayed on the attack.

Juventus, second in Serie A but waiting on the outcome of an Italian football federation ruling on illicit transfer activity, may end up needing to qualify for next season’s Champions League through Europa League victory.

Former Chelsea youth team player Iling-Junior cut in dangerously from the left but could not find a final ball as a more composed Juventus enjoyed more control.

Eventually their pressure paid off when Gatti scored with virtually the last touch of the game, leaving honours even ahead of the return in Seville next Thursday.

In the other semi-final, Edoardo Bove fired Roma to a 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in a tight first leg.

Bove scored the only goal of the game in the 63rd minute at the Stadio Olimpico, allowing Jose Mourinho’s side to take a slender lead into next week’s second leg in Germany.

The win gives Mourinho the chance to reach his second European final in as many years as Roma coach after winning the Europa Conference League last season.

Roma took the win despite having a host of players either out or barely fit to play, with stars Paulo Dybala and Georginio Wijnaldum only coming on in the final 15 minutes to help out an exhausted, largely second-string team.

Roma who were wondering how they didn’t open the scoring mid way through the first half when Roger Ibanez’s header from a Lorenzo Pellegrini free-kick was well-saved by Lukas Hradecky.

And Tammy Abraham failed to tap in from the rebound, leaving the home fans open-mouthed at the latest blunder from their misfiring English striker.

Very little happened between then and when Roma took the lead just after the hour mark, youth product Bove causing an eruption in the stands which up to that point had looked almost impossible.

Bove started the move which led to the goal, charging forward before feeding Abraham whose spin and shot led to the ball falling to the young midfielder, who lashed in the opener.

From there Roma retreated back into their defensive shell, thinking they could hold off Leverkusen.

However they survived a huge scare with three minutes remaining when goalkeeper Rui Patricio and Ibanez ran into one another while trying to clear Wirtz’s cross.

The ball dropped for Jeremie Frimpong but the Dutch forward could only fire his shot into Bryan Cristante.

A cascade of whistles came from the stands as fans begged referee Michael Oliver to blow his whistle.

When the Englishman duly obliged, both sides were left still in the running to face either Sevilla or Juventus in the Budapest final.

– © AFP 2023