JAKARTA - AS Roma had to play with 10 men from the 15th minute when defender Gianluca Mancini received a red card in the last match of the Europa League qualifying phase against Panathinaikos at the Spyros Louis Stadium, Athens, Friday, January 30, 2026 WIB. However, Roma managed to hold Panathinaikos 1-1 and automatically qualified for the 16th round.
Roma and Panathinaikos have actually qualified for the last 16 despite having to play in the playoffs. If Panathinaikos wins, they have the chance to enter the top eight and can get a ticket to the knockout round automatically.
The real hope was almost fulfilled when Panathinaikos played at home. In fact, they were already 1-0 ahead when facing an opponent who played with 10 people.
Roma was forced to lose a player after Mancini committed a foul against Milos Pantovic in the 15th minute. The referee initially gave Mancini a yellow card. However, the Italian national team defender turned out to be the last player when Pantovic approached Roma's defense area. At the discretion of VAR, the referee gave Mancini a red card.
The loss of the defender forced coach Gian Piero Gasperini to change strategy by strengthening the defense. Previously, Roma had played offensively well. They created a number of opportunities through Lorenzo Pellegrini who received a pass from Kostas Tsimikas in the early minutes of the match.
Only Pellegrini's shot could be thwarted by goalkeeper Alban Lafont. Likewise, Pellegrini and Matias Soule's second chances still failed when taking advantage of the home team's backline blunder.
In the second half, Panathinaikos showed a resurgence. They actually came under pressure again through I Giallorossi's aggressive play. However, Roma's attack did not bear fruit.
On the other hand, Panathinaikos managed to steal a goal after Vicente Taborda defeated goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini who replaced Mile Svilar in the match. The goal that was created in the 58th minute was inseparable from the mistake of Roma defender Daniele Ghilardi who did not realize that Taborda was behind. Taborda managed to cut the ball to defeat the goalkeeper.
However, Rafael Benitez's team failed to maintain the 1-0 lead. Even though they tried to anticipate Roma's attack, Panathinaikos' goal was finally conceded when the match entered the second half.
The goal started from a cross pass from Niccolo Pisilli who wanted to be thrown off by the opponent's defender. Only defender Jan Ziolkowski had already taken action to head the ball, which made the Panathinaikos goal tremble in the 80th minute.
The score was tied 1-1. In that position, Roma increased their attack. Unfortunately, their efforts were not successful and the score remained until the end of the match.
The additional one point brought good luck to Roma. The reason is, I Lupi climbed to eighth place with 16 points. The same as Genk who beat Malmo FF 2-1. Only Roma has a goal difference so they can enter the top eight and qualify automatically.
Meanwhile, Genk had to settle for ninth place and eventually play in the playoffs. Likewise, Panathinaikos will compete in the playoffs after finishing in 20th place with 12 points.
Even though he qualified automatically after entering the top eight, Gasperini is not sure if Roma is the champion's favorite. "I don't know if we are one of the favorites to win. In fact, I'm not disappointed if I have to qualify even through the playoffs. It's not a problem for us," said Gasperini.
Ziolkowski, who saved Roma from defeat, admitted that the team did not show the best performance. "We did fight until the end, especially when we played with 10 players. We gave 120% of our ability so that fans can enjoy it," he said.
"It's just that our performance wasn't the best. I'm also happy with my first goal. Of course I hope this is not the last. I actually had a chance in the first half, but I failed to take advantage of it. But when I saw there was a cross, I was in the right position [to score]," said Ziolkowski.
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