With only two wins in their last nine Serie A matches, Roma’s already fragile hold on one of Italy’s four Champions League spots has slipped away. After Sunday’s 2-1 loss to Como, who now sit in 4th place, Roma dropped to 6th on the table, two points behind 5th-place Juventus and three points behind Como. While neither of those gaps is insurmountable, given Roma’s current form, you’d be wise to place your bets elsewhere.
But there was one final fallback option: winning the Europa League. Although
Roma has never won the UEFA Cup/Europa League, they have regularly advanced deep into the knockout rounds in recent years, reaching their peak with a runner-up finish in 2022-2023. After surviving the League Phase over the past several months, Roma was drawn against Bologna in the Round of 16. Following last week’s 1-1 draw on the road, today’s return leg was do or die for Gian Piero Gasperini’s group.
And while they didn’t suffer an immediate death, the club eventually succumbed to Bologna after 120 exciting and excruciating minutes. After exchanging blows (and six goals!) for 90 minutes, the two teams headed to Added Extra Time at the Olimpico. And while Roma survived the first 15 minutes of AET, their luck ran out in the 111th minute when Nicolo Cambiaghi slipped behind the defense to beat Mile Svilar and end Roma’s Europa League hopes.
Gasperini spoke to Sky Sport after today’s defeat, attempting to not only summarize tonight’s result but a month’s worth of frustrations. Here are some of the best bits. (Text courtesy of Romanews, translations courtesy of AI)
How do you explain these defensive lapses over the past month? And a comment on the boos from the supporters?
“I don’t know. The boos come from the disappointment of going out, not from the players’ performance. The match was shaped by these serious and unusual mistakes. Aside from that, the team showed both the best and the worst of itself. We mounted a comeback, but in the end the result is what matters.”
After such a big disappointment, does this team still have the legs to avoid writing off the season?
“It absolutely has to. There are nine matches left, and we need to refocus on the league. The path we’ve been on this past week has been very positive. In Bologna we earned a good point, and today we were superior to our opponent in many aspects—but we threw the game away in certain moments. That’s how it goes, but we’ll look ahead to the next matches.”
How much have you missed Dybala, Soulé, Dovbyk, and Ferguson?
“Yes, in extra time there was some fatigue. If you’re missing four or five players all in the same department, of course you suffer. Despite that, we found an outstanding Malen, who has increased our attacking threat compared to the first half of the season—but it’s also true that we used to have more options. Over this past week, I really can’t say much to my players because I think they performed at a high level. The attacking issue has been with us since the start of the season. For one reason or another—injuries or missed transfer opportunities—it’s been difficult to build our attack the way we want.”
How do you assess this dip in defensive solidity?
“Probably at this stage the level rises, and there’s more fatigue and pressure. A team that plays like this—with consistency over the full 90 minutes, winning the ball back, breaking forward, and playing in this way—can still lose if you make mistakes like that.”
Can we describe this as a night of pride for Italian football?
“It was certainly a very exciting match, but we go out with great regret. We saw both the best and the worst of what we’re capable of—the best for most of the match, and the worst in the chances we conceded, which forced us to keep chasing the game. With a performance like that, it’s a shame to have made those kinds of mistakes.”
It’s all Serie A from here on out, so enjoy the last glimpse of European football for 2025-2026.
