Tammy Abraham downs Leicester as Roma reach Europa Conference League final

Tammy Abraham broke Leicester hearts as Roma reached the Europa Conference League final.

The striker’s 27th goal of the season sealed a 1-0 win at the Stadio Olimpico and booked a showdown with Feyenoord in Tirana.

Jose Mourinho’s side progressed 2-1 on aggregate after last week’s semi-final first leg draw at the King Power Stadium.

The Foxes fell short in their first European semi-final and there will be a lingering sense of regret they failed to seriously trouble Roma and never did themselves justice.

The club have torn up the rule book after winning the Premier League and FA Cup in the last six years but, this season, European success was just out of reach.

Roma have not won a European competition for 50 years, since beating Blackpool in the 1972 Anglo-Italian Cup but Mourinho will now look to complete the set after his past Champions League and Europa League victories.

Home fans had begun hurling flares at the Leicester supporters long before kick-off at a hostile Stadio Olimpico with the hosts looking to reach their first European final since 1991, when they lost the UEFA Cup to Inter Milan.

A pre-match banner declared ‘Everyone in Britain dreads the name of the Romans’ and Roma’s determination was obvious.

Leicester did have early protests for a penalty ignored when Chris Smalling hauled down Wesley Fofana but the ravenous hosts quickly took charge to grab an 11th-minute winner.

Kasper Schmeichel had already saved Lorenzo Pellegrini’s cute free-kick as Roma forced a number of corners and it was, again, from a set-piece where Leicester conceded.

Pellegrini’s dangerous delivery was met by Abraham and he outjumped Ricardo Pereira to power a towering header past Schmeichel from seven yards.

It was the striker’s ninth