Anybody’s game after Federico Gatti keeps Juventus alive; Roma win

Turin, May 12

Substitute Federico Gatti scored deep into stoppage time to salvage a 1-1 draw for Juventus against six-time champions Sevilla in the first leg of the Europa League semifinals.

Gatti headed in the equaliser in the seventh minute of added time in Turin to keep alive the Italian team’s hopes for a European trophy after a long drought.

Juventus won the competition when it was known as the UEFA Cup three times, most recently in 1993. The team will have to win in the second leg next week to get a chance to claim a first European title since winning the Champions League in 1996.

Sevilla have won the trophy six times and again proved they are title contenders. Youssef En-Nesyri scored in the 26th minute to finish a lethal counterattack for Sevilla, which eliminated Manchester United in the quarterfinals. It was the forward’s 18th goal in all competitions.

The visitors suffered a setback when Lucas Ocampos, who had several attempts on goal, had to be substituted in the 34th due to an injury.

Sevilla had another good chance but goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny tipped Ivan Rakitic’s shot over the bar. Earlier, Angel Di Maria helped Juventus create some pressure but it was the visitors who struck first.

Sevilla have never lost a semifinal in this competition.

Roma stayed on course to claim back-to-back European titles by beating Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 in the first leg of their semifinal. Jose Mourinho’s team won the inaugural edition of the third-tier Europa Conference League last year. Leverkusen has been on the rise under coach Xabi Alonso, who played for Mourinho at Real Madrid, but Roma had the upper hand at Stadio Olimpico.

In the Europa Conference League, Said Benrahma and Michail Antonio led West Ham’s second-half rally to beat AZ Alkmaar 2-1 at London Stadium. — AP