Spare a thought for Lewis Dunk. The Brighton captain made his debut when his side were languishing in League One 14 years ago 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 the Chelsea loanee rammed home the second just before half-time – his seventh in this competition.
Things only got worse 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. Time will tell whether this performance after injury-ravaged Brighton crashed out of the FA Cup last week has any impact on De Zerbi’s chances of landing a premium job this summer.
“Everyone in the changing room was very disappointed. They all know we didn’t deliver tonight,” he said. “Lewis has always been an example for this team but from a leadership standpoint I have zero doubts about him.”
Asked what he could take from this chastening defeat, De Zerbi said: “There is a lesson to learn for the chairman [Tony Bloom] because in the future maybe we will be able to improve the team. For myself because I could have handled the period between January and March much better and also for the players because they will walk away with many regrets. And with those regrets next time you know what to expect and you can improve.”
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. While another fan was also stabbed, 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.
Sporting their special edition Europa League shirts that features 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 little more than 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 Simon Adingra soon after ended with the Ivory Coast winger’s cross being deflected on to the post in an encouraging moment for De Zerbi. But his mood soon worsened when Dybala timed his run perfectly to latch on to a brilliant through ball from Leandro Paredes and slotted past Steele. The assistant initially ruled out the goal for offside but VAR clearly showed that it was Dunk who had played the Argentina forward onside.
Brighton slowly found their feet as the first half wore on and Danny Welbeck was presented with a golden opportunity to equalise from a wonderful cross from Adingra but Mile 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.
It wasn’t long before 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.
