Europa League: Moroccan midfielder Neil El Aynaoui scores to inspire AS Roma to beat Midtjylland

Moroccan midfielder Neil El Aynaoui was on the scoresheet for AS Roma on Thursday night, inspiring the side to defeat Midtjylland 2-1 in their Europa League clash.

The 24-year-old started the contest for the hosts and opened the scoring in the 7th minute after meeting a pinpoint cross from Zeki Çelik inside the box.

With a smooth first touch and a composed finish into the bottom left corner, he gave Roma the perfect start.

Roma doubled their lead in the 83rd minute when Stephan El Shaarawy connected with a well-weighted pass from Leon Bailey and calmly beat the goalkeeper with a low effort into the middle of the net.

Midtjylland, however, refused to leave the Stadio Olimpico without a fight. Paulinho struck in the 86th minute with a sharp finish into the bottom right corner, giving the visitors late hope.

But Roma held firm through the closing stages to seal an important win in their Europa League campaign.

The win takes AS Roma to 13th in the Europa League table and closer to getting into the top 10 for automatic qualification to the knockout round.