Roger Ibanez had plenty to be thankful for after his late strike ensured Roma ran out 2-1 winners against Ajax on Thursday night.
The Giallorossi grabbed the upper hand in the Europa League quarter-final tie as they came from behind at the Johan Cruyff Arena – although it was nearly all so different when Ibanez conceded a penalty with the hosts already leading.
But Pau Lopez saved that spot-kick – setting the stage for Lorenzo Pellegrini and Ibanez to fire home two vital away goals.
“It was a tough game – but we dug in, we stayed strong out there – and in the end I scored to give us the win on the night,” Ibanez said afterwards.
“I have to thank Pau for his penalty save – and then God because we won the game. We need to play with the right attitude; these are all important games and now we know we have to go home and get back to work.
“This game was always going to be important for us – now we need to build on it.”
