What a night at the Olimpico! If you missed the Europa League Round of 16 second leg between Roma and Bologna yesterday, you missed one of the most chaotic, heart-stopping matches of the 2025/26 season. It was a classic “all-Italian” affair that had everything: tactical shifts, penalty drama, and a late, late winner that silenced the Curva Sud.
Bologna eventually progressed to the quarter-finals with a 4-3 win on the night (5-4 on aggregate) after 120 minutes of grueling football.
A First Half of Blows and Counter-Blows
The match kicked off with high intensity, and it didn’t take long for the visitors to draw first blood. In the 22nd minute, Jonathan Rowe silenced the home crowd with a clinical finish into the top corner after some tidy work from Santiago Castro.
Roma, under the guidance of Gasperini, didn’t panic. Just ten minutes later, Evan Ndicka rose highest from a Lorenzo Pellegrini corner to thunder a header home, leveling the tie and sending the Giallorossi faithful into a frenzy. However, the momentum shifted again just before the break. Stephan El Shaarawy’s clumsy challenge on Nadir Zortea resulted in a penalty, which Federico Bernardeschi coolly dispatched to give Bologna a 2-1 lead heading into the tunnel.
The Second-Half Rollercoaster
Vincenzo Italiano’s men looked to have killed the tie in the 58th minute when Santiago Castro smashed a third past Mile Svilar. At 3-1 down (4-2 on aggregate), Roma looked buried.
But never count out this side at the Olimpico. A lifeline came in the 69th minute when Robinio Vaz was fouled in the box, and Donyell Malen made no mistake from the spot. The stadium found its voice again, and the comeback was completed in the 80th minute. Captain Lorenzo Pellegrini, who had been knocking on the door all night, unleashed a long-range strike that Federico Ravaglia couldn’t reach. 3-3 on the night, 4-4 on aggregate—we were headed for extra time.
The Heartbreak in Extra Time
Both sides looked exhausted in the additional 30 minutes, with the match becoming more about grit than tactical fluidity. Just as it looked like we were destined for the lottery of a penalty shootout, the deciding moment arrived.
In the 111th minute, super-sub Nicolò Cambiaghi found a pocket of space after a pinpoint pass from Thijs Dallinga. He drove a low shot off the inside of the post and into the net. There was no coming back for Roma this time.
