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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Liam Wood

Roma defender warns Manchester United ahead of Europa League second leg

Roma have not thrown the towel in ahead of their Europa League return clash against Manchester United.

That's the message from centre-back Roger Ibanez, who boldly claims the Italian side still stand a chance of turning their semi-final fortunes around at the Stadio Olimpico.

Seven days ago, the Serie A visitors found themselves 2-1 up heading into half-time at Old Trafford.

However, following those goals from Lorenzo Pellegrini and former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, Roma were on the receiving end of a second-half onslaught dished out by United.

Bruno Fernandes, who had opened the scoring, and Edinson Cavani led the way with doubles - before Paul Pogba and Mason Greenwood went on to decorate the 6-2 verdict.

As a result, United are firmly in the driving seat as they target a first piece of silverware under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

They won't be booking flights to Gdansk just yet, though, and Ibanez sees no reason why the Serie A side can't defy the odds and do so themselves at United's expense.

During his pre-match interview, Ibanez said: "We believe right until the end. There are still 90 minutes to stage a comeback. We showed what Roma are made of in the first half. What happened in the second half was an exception, but we're working hard to ensure that we do well. We need to match the performance of the first half in Manchester, but right until the end."

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