Lukaku on target as Roma destroy Brighton’s Europa League dreams

Spare a thought for Lewis Dunk. The Brighton captain made his debut for his hometown club in 2010 when they were still languishing in League One and has ridden the wave all the way to Rome’s Stadio Olimpico.

Yet it was two mistakes from the England defender that were the catalyst for a nightmare evening in the Italian capital that leaves Roberto De Zerbi’s side needing a minor miracle in next week’s second leg. Dunk had already been at fault by playing Paulo Dybala onside for Roma’s first goal when he inexplicably presented the ball to Romelu Lukaku and he rammed home the second just before half-time. Things only worsened for Brighton as Gianluca Mancini and Bryan Cristante scored second-half goals to round off a ruthless display from Daniele De Rossi’s seasoned European campaigners.

The away supporters had packed out their section of this cavernous arena an hour before kick-off, with one fan who was stabbed on Wednesday night and needed 10 stitches in his thigh after being attacked by a group of masked men given a rapturous welcome when he arrived. Thankfully that appeared to have been an isolated incident in a city that has become a danger zone for English clubs, although Brighton’s X account stated that bottles, coins and lighters had been thrown by home supporters during the first half and they had reported it to Uefa and the police.

De Zerbi was greeted by his opposite number with a giant bear hug after De Rossi had described the Brighton manager as “a genius” 24 hours earlier. He made six changes from the side that lost to Fulham at the weekend, with Simon Adingra, Pascal Gross and Danny Welbeck among those recalled.

Sporting their special edition Europa League shirts that feature a printed illustration of the Royal Pavilion, the visitors seemed slightly overawed by the intimidating atmosphere in the opening exchanges and could easily have fallen behind after 120 seconds. Leonardo Spinazzola was given far too much time to deliver a cross from the left flank but Lukaku could only direct his header at Jason Steele.

A mazy dribble from Adingra soon after ended with the Ivory Coast winger’s cross being deflected onto the post in an encouraging moment for De Zerbi. But his mood soon worsened when Dybala timed his run perfectly to latch onto a brilliant through ball from Leandro Paredes and slotted past Steele. The assistant initially ruled out the goal for offside but VAR clearly showed it was Dunk who had played the Argentina forward onside.

Roma had won their past four matches in all competitions under De Rossi after he stopped into replace José Mourinho in January, including a penalty shootout victory here over Feyenoord in the knockout playoff round of this competition when goalkeeper Mile Svilar was the hero. Yet Brighton slowly found their feet as the first half wore on and Welbeck was presented with a golden opportunity to equalise from a wonderful cross from Adingra but Svilar produced an excellent one-handed save to deny him.

But disaster struck just before half-time when Dunk attempted to control an innocuous long ball by the touchline and gifted possession straight to Lukaku, who made no mistake with a clinical finish at the far post. The Brighton captain looked as if he wished the ground would swallow him up. To their credit, the visitors did not let their heads drop and it needed another excellent save from Svilar to again deny Welbeck’s header from an Adingra cross.

De Zerbi sent his players out early for the second half with Ansu Fati having replaced the ineffective Julio Enciso. But it was Roma who looked more likely to extend their lead as Steele was called into action again to deny Lukaku.

Welbeck was enduring an evening to forget as the England striker failed to hit the target from a tight angle, with De Zerbi urging his team to show more composure. But it wasn’t long until Brighton found themselves four goals down after Mancini was adjudged to have been onside when he volleyed home, while Cristante sealed the victory after finishing off a brilliant move from Stephan El Shaarawy. Down on the touchline, De Zerbi seemed like he had seen a ghost. Dunk’s shot from the edge of the box that whistled over the bar as Brighton chased a consolation goal summed up what looks like a frightful finale to their fairytale.