Maarten Stekelenburg takes the blame for his ‘difficult’ spell at Roma, but has no regrets ahead of the Europa League trip with Ajax.

The first leg of the Europa League quarter-final ended 2-1 for the Giallorossi in Amsterdam and the decider is tomorrow at the Stadio Olimpico.

Stekelenburg missed the first match due to injury, but returns here to face the club he represented from 2011-13.

Maarten Stekelenburg takes the blame for his ‘difficult’ spell at Roma, but has no regrets ahead of the Europa League trip with Ajax.

The first leg of the Europa League quarter-final ended 2-1 for the Giallorossi in Amsterdam and the decider is tomorrow at the Stadio Olimpico.

Stekelenburg missed the first match due to injury, but returns here to face the club he represented from 2011-13.

“My years in Rome were difficult, but it was my fault,” confessed the 38-year-old in his press conference.

“I really was happy there, it was a good experience, but I was leaving Ajax for the first time and it was definitely a learning experience for me. I haven’t been back here for 10 years.

“I have no regrets over my career, they were all intense experiences. I am here to do my best, there’s absolutely no desire for revenge against Roma. It’d be a real problem if I had to seek extra motivation for a quarter-final.”

With Andre Onana suspended for a doping violation, Stekelenburg was replaced in the first leg by Kjell Scherpen, who made a serious error on Lorenzo Pellegrini’s free kick.

“Football is constantly changing and with it free kick routines, for example the way many have a man lying down behind the wall.

“Scherpen did well, errors can happen and we encourage each other in the team. I saw a balanced game in the first leg, we just need to be more precise in front of goal.

“Italian teams are strong defensively and we must make the most of it when we do create those scoring opportunities.”

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