JAKARTA - Midfielder Niccolo Pisili scored a brace that led AS Roma to defeat German Bundesliga team VfB Stuttgart 2-0 in an Europa League match at the Olimpico Stadium, Friday, January 23, 2026 WIB. The victory opened the door for Roma to automatically qualify for the 16th round of the second-tier European competition.
The competition in the Europa League qualifying round is nearing its end. Teams are scrambling to enter or stay in the top eight to qualify for the 16th round or knockout round without having to go through the playoffs.
Meanwhile, teams ranked ninth to 24th must undergo a playoff and they meet each other to defeat to complete the eight teams that have qualified automatically.
Roma is one of the teams that must work hard to get an automatic ticket to the next round. The opportunity can at least be secured after defeating the strong opponent Stuttgart. A match that is not easy for Roma because Stuttgart is on fire in the German League.
In fact, they are ranked fourth and if they maintain their position in the domestic competition, Stuttgart will appear in the Champions League next season.
However, Roma, who lost a number of key players, Mario Hermoso, Artem Dovbyk, Stephan El Shaarawy and Angelino who were injured, were able to overcome the pressure.
Not Paulo Dybala or Matias Soule and Lorenzo Pellegrini but Pisili who bagged all the goals and brought I Giallorossi to three points.
The victory makes Roma occupy the sixth position with 15 points. Even though they are in the top eight, the position of the team coached by Gian Piero Gasperini is still not safe. This is because Roma is only one point ahead of the team in ninth place, Porto. In addition, those in positions 10 and 11 can still displace Roma.
There is no other option for Roma to win the last match against Panathinaikos to secure an automatic ticket to the last 16.
"There is still one more match for us to finish in the top eight. We will go to Athens [against Panatinaikos] and give 100% of our potential like this match. This victory really helps us keep the competition," Pisili said on the UEFA website.
Pisili also admitted that he was satisfied to score a brace for Roma. Moreover, the goals helped Roma achieve an important victory in the Europa League.
"This is the first time I scored a brace in the first team. Of course I'm happy like when I scored the last goal. More than that, the two goals helped the team win an important victory," said the 21-year-old midfielder who did not hesitate to praise his teammates who played a big role in the process of his goals.
"Playing with players of quality like Soule and Dybala makes everything easier," he said.
Meanwhile, Gasperini assessed that Pisili is developing even though he is still young. He also looks more mature when playing as an attacking midfielder.
"Pisili has shown his quality last season. He, in my opinion, is also growing. Outside the goal, his performance is indeed maturing. He makes the team have depth," said Gasperini.
Roma Work Hard
In that match, Roma had to work hard to deal with Stuttgart who also created several opportunities. The hosts had to wait until the end of the first half when Pisili ran to greet Soule's breakthrough pass.
Instead of releasing a cross, Pisili with full confidence fired a shot into the top corner of the goal that surprised goalkeeper Alexander Nubel. The goal created in the 40th minute gave Roma a 1-0 lead. The score also remained until halftime.
Entering the second half, the match was tied. Roma and Stuttgart both created opportunities. Roma first threatened the visiting team's goal through Pellegrini. Only his shot could be secured by Nubel.
Furthermore, Stuttgart had the opportunity to equalize the score when Deniz Undav got two good chances. Undav had escaped and was facing goalkeeper Mile Svilar. But he failed to take advantage of the opportunity.
Likewise, when he continued Chris Fuhrich's free kick. Undav's shot still soared over the crossbar. The opportunity was again obtained through Lorenz Assignon, who could still be secured by Svilar. However, the best opportunity was obtained by Stuttgart beating Ermedin Demirovic's close-range shot. Fortunately, Svilar made a brilliant save.
When the match was expected to end with a score of 1-0, Pisili made another surprise. In injury time, Dybala gave an assist that was successfully completed by Pisili. The score changed to 2-0 and shortly after the match ended.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
