Ibañez continues to make history with the Roma shirt. Last Thursday (20), the Brazilian had a good performance in qualifying for the semifinals of the Europa League 2022/23. The Italian club beat Feyenoord 4-1 after making it 2-1 at the end of the 90 minutes, leading the decision to extra time, and then turned the match around, after having lost the first leg by 1-0 .
“It was an incredible match, with several twists and turns and a happy ending for us. I just have to thank God, this crowd and the whole group for achieving this goal. We have been advancing in the knockout stages since the last Conference League and this greatly strengthens our team, the collective and the mentality that Mourinho passes on to us,” said the defender, who was in the starting line-up in the Conference League final last season, in a 1-1 victory. 0 about the same Feyenoord.
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In the current chapter, Ibañez entered ins the 90 minutes and then helped the team take the duel to overtime, guaranteeing the dramatic classification by scoring two goals in extra time. Roma are now looking to return to the tournament final, something that hasn’t happened since the 1990-91 season.
“It is a huge pride to be part of this squad and build a new history at the club with each game. We know the importance of competition and the achievements we can achieve. Now it’s time to keep working, focus on the Italian and then think about the semifinals clash,” he commented.
Ibañez has 10 matches in the Europa League, nine in the starting line-up. In all, there are 38 appointments for the number 3 shirt in the season, in addition to two games defending the Brazilian national team (one this year and another in 2022).
At 24, he is one of the pillars of the defense of Roma, fourth less leaked defense in the Italian. This is Ibañez’s fourth season at the club, his third complete. Last year, he reached the relevant mark of 100 games (totaling 139 now) and recently reached 100 commitments in the Italian Championship (also counting a game for Atalanta).
Roma will face German side of Bayer Leverkusen in the semifinals, with matches dates to be confirmed. In the Italian Championship, the next duel will be against Atalanta, today (24). The Ibañez team is in fourth place and is trying to book a place in the next season’s Champions League.
