JAKARTA - AS Roma became the favorite team that failed to continue their journey in the Europa League. The drama of seven goals in the second leg of the 16th round against Bologna in the Italian Derby at the Olympic Stadium, Friday, March 20, 2026 WIB, ended in a 4-3 defeat. Roma was eliminated and Bologna who qualified for the quarter finals.
The painful failure was because Roma played at home in this second match. Roma was also slightly underestimated after playing a 1-1 draw in the previous match at home to Bologna.
However, I Giallorossi experienced an anticlimax when hosting Bologna in a duel between Italian Serie A teams. The match was exciting and fierce because the two teams attacked each other and both scored three goals. The score ended in a draw 3-3 so it continued to extra time.
In extra time, Bologna was blessed. Substitute Nicolo Cambiaghi scored the decisive goal for Bologna's victory in the 111th minute.
Roma's efforts to catch up were unsuccessful so I Rossoblu finally won 4-3. They also won the aggregate 5-4 and qualified for the quarter finals to meet the English Premier League representative Aston Villa.
The failure made Roma coach Gian Piero Gasperini disappointed. He also admitted to being frustrated with his team's erratic performance throughout the match.
"This is indeed a very good match and makes us very sorry. We showed our best performance as well as the worst," Gasperini said as quoted by Football Italia.
"Overall, we played our best. The worst performance was when we conceded the goal that made us have to try to come back. It's a pity that such a performance. We also made a lot of mistakes," he said.
According to him, a number of mistakes made by the players made Bologna briefly ahead 3-1. However, Roma was finally able to catch up to tie the score to 3-3.
"When you reach a position like this, then your level will continue to rise and the pressure will be higher. The team really has a high fighting spirit. When you are 3-1 behind, we have the momentum to catch up," said Gasperini.
"When you make a mistake, then you definitely lose," he said again.
In that match, Roma took the initiative to attack. But Bologna also gave resistance. Even the team coached by Vincenzo Italiano took the lead when Jonathan Rowe broke into the Roma goal in the 22nd minute. Rowe's spectacular kick surprised the Roma players because it could penetrate their defense.
Only Bologna's 1-0 lead did not last long. Roma managed to equalize through Evan Ndicka who scored in the 32nd minute. In a 1-1 draw, Bologna again put pressure. Their efforts to add goals also bore fruit towards the end of the first half.
This time Bologna added a goal from the penalty spot following a foul committed by Stephan El Shaarawy against Nadir Zortea in the penalty box in the 45th minute. The referee pointed to the white spot and Federico Bernardeschi successfully defeated goalkeeper Mile Svilar who moved in the wrong direction. The score changed to 2-1 for Bologna and lasted until the first half ended.
Entering the second half, Roma tried to rise. It was only Bologna who could take advantage of the weakness of the home team's defense. As proven, Santiago Castro who then brought Bologna ahead 3-1 in the 58th minute. His hard shot successfully conquered Svilar.
In the losing position, Roma finally scored the second goal from the penalty spot. The referee gave a penalty after Roma player Robinio Vaz was brought down in the penalty box. The penalty execution was completed by Donyell Malen who changed the score to 3-2 in the 69th minute.
The goal lifted the spirits of the Roma players to catch up. Their efforts bore fruit again when Lorenzo Pellegrini broke into the Bologna goal in the 80th minute. The goal that tied the score to 3-3 was greeted by the home fans.
The score remained until the end of the match so it continued to extra time. In that round, Bologna managed to take advantage of the opportunity to score a goal. Cambiaghi successfully broke the deadlock in the 111th minute and brought Bologna ahead 4-3. The score remained until the end of the match.
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