UEFA Europa Conference League: Jose Mourinho's Roma reach inaugural final with matchup set against Feyenoord

Two finalists will emerge on Thursday night as Jose Mourinho's Roma seek to end their trophy drought

The inaugural finalists for the Europa Conference League are set: Roma will face Feyenoord for the trophy.. Roma defeated Leicester City, 1-0, to win 2-1 on aggregate and Marseille drew, 0-0, with Feyenoord as the Dutch side advanced 3-2 on aggregate. Jose Mourinho's chance to end Roma's 14-year trophy drought stays alive as the Italian side craves success as its last piece of hardware was a Coppa Italia triumph in 2008. Roma have never won a major continental trophy.

Tammy Abraham continued his impressive season by rising higher than everyone else to score his ninth goal in 12 Conference League matches. 

From there, the defense went to work in limiting Leicester's chances as the Foxes only had two shots on target for an xG of 0.37 during the match. Abraham would have another chance after the half but the ball pinged around the box before falling to Kasper Schmeichel, who was able to come out with the save in the end. While it's a new tournament, the triumph would mean so much for Mourinho and his Roma side if they can see things out.

There was a slight worry as Abraham asked to be subbed out in the 89th minute, but it remains to be seen if he was physically spent or if there's an actual injury concern. With Fiorentina on the schedule for Monday, Roma will need their forward at his best in Serie A.

It was a disappointing night in France as Dimitri Payet had to be subbed out only 33 minutes into the match with an injury. He was replaced by Arkadiusz Milik. When Payet left, Marseille lost all of their creativity, making it an easy defensive job for Feyenoord. While the Dutch side had been a free scoring unit in previous games, they were unable to get by Marseille's defense to score but it wouldn't matter as all they had to do was stop attacks to book their own spot in the final.

When is the final/ what happens to the winner?

The final will take place in Albania at the Arena Kombetare on May 25 between Roma and Feyenoord on Paramount+. The winner will secure a place in next year's Europa League group stage, which could be important to both teams. Roma are fifth in Serie A but Lazio, Fiorentina, and Atalanta are all within three points of Mourinho's side, they may need the title to ensure that they aren't in the Conference League again next season.

In the Eredivisie, Feyenoord also sit third with a five-point lead on FC Twente with three matches remaining in the season. So if they were to win the tournament, there may be a spot up for grabs in Europa League.

Are Roma back?

Jose Mourinho's first year in charge could end on a high note if he's able to break their trophy drought while securing a Europa League berth. Tammy Abraham spoke about the backing of the fans after the match.

"The fans won it for before the game started. This support till now, we're not even on the pitch and they're still singing, you know, they won the game for us, and to get to the final Is a dream come true for me, my team and for the fans for Rome, this is what I came here to do and you know, we're fulfilling it," Abraham said.

It's quite a moment for a Roma side that has fallen from Italy's elite, so getting the fans back on their side will be quite a boon not only now, but also to recruit players to hopefully finish in the top four next season. But all focus is on the task at hand of staying in fifth place and winning the Conference League.