ROTTERDAM: Striker Romelu Lukaku showed his strength to force home the equaliser as AS Roma held Feyenoord to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Europa League playoff tie on Thursday.
Igor Paixao’s header on the stroke of halftime gave the Dutch club the lead but they will now be up against it in next week’s second leg in Rome as they continue a growing rivalry with the Italian side.
Galatasaray and Sporting Lisbon were the winners in two of the other four early kickoffs in the first knockout round of the competition.
Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk twice came from behind to draw 2-2 against Olympique de Marseille as they clashed in neutral Germany.