Roma strike late to beat Athletic as nine-man Lazio win at Plzen

Eldor Shomurodov scored in stoppage time as Roma earned a 2-1 win at home to Athletic Bilbao in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie on Thursday.

The Serie A side went the closest to scoring through Artem Dovbyk and Paulo Dybala, who hit the woodwork, in a first half where chances were few and far between.

However, it was the LaLiga Outfit who took the lead five minutes into the second period through an Inaki Williams header.

Their lead only lasted six minutes as Angelino restored parity before Athletic were reduced to 10 men five minutes from time after Yeray Alvarez saw a second yellow card.

Uzbekistan striker Shomurodov then snatched a late victory for Roma in the 93rd minute.

Their rivals Lazio also produced late drama to beat Viktoria Plzen 2-1 despite seeing two players sent off in the second half.

Tutto nel secondo tempo: la ribaltiamo con Angelino e Shomurodov dopo il vantaggio di Williams.

Forza grande Roma #RomaAthletic pic.twitter.com/Z7PQn7uD4W

— AS Roma (@OfficialASRoma) March 6, 2025

Rafiu Durosinmi’s header had cancelled out Alessio Romagnoli’s opener, before Nicolo Rovella and Samuel Gigot both saw red cards.

But Gustav Isaksen’s sublime finish in the 98th minute snatched victory for Lazio ahead of next week’s return leg against the Czech side.

Elsewhere, goals from Hugo Larsson and Ellyes Skhiri helped Eintracht Frankfurt earn a 2-1 comeback victory at Ajax.

Bodo/Glimt recorded a 3-0 win against Olympiacos in their first leg, with Kasper Hogh scoring a double.