🏆 Roma back in the Champions League 🔙 Dybala class, Malen, El Sha off 🥺 | OneFootball

Roma return to the Champions League after seven years away. Gian Piero Gasperini’s Giallorossi won 2-0 away at Verona and wrapped up the season by securing fourth place.

At the Bentegodi, it was anything but an easy match. Verona, already relegated, played without fear and immediately caused Roma problems: Suslov and Bowie both tested Mile Svilar. Paulo Dybala tried to break the deadlock from a free kick but was denied by a superb Montipò, the standout performer of the first half along with Svilar, who made a crucial stop on Bowie late in the half.

The turning point came after the break. Valentini, already booked, pulled back Dybala as he raced toward goal and left Verona down to ten men. Shortly after came the key moment of the match: from the resulting corner, Bowie handled the ball in the box, Sozza was called over to the VAR monitor and awarded a penalty.

From the spot, Malen was denied by Montipò, but from the rebound it was Dybala again who made the difference, setting up the Dutchman once more, and this time he made no mistake to score for 1-0.

Roma kept pushing, went close to a second goal several times, and in the closing stages killed the game on the counterattack. Dybala again provided the spark with a wonderful backheel for El Shaarawy, who lifted a delicate chip over Montipò to make it 2-0. A special goal, because it was El Shaarawy’s last in the Giallorossi shirt.

The Bentegodi thus became the stage for Roma’s celebrations: at 10:50 p.m., joy erupted among the 1,500 fans in the away end. After more than seven years, Roma are finally back among Europe’s elite.

😍 Farewell 'kiss' and Champions seal: El Shaarawy makes it 2-0!

Roma sealed the deal at the Bentegodi with Stephan El Shaarawy’s goal for 0-2.

The move came from a perfect Giallorossi counterattack led by Robinio Vaz. Then came Dybala’s magic, as he finished off the move with a brilliant backheel to send El Shaarawy through one-on-one with Montipò.

Roma’s No. 92 kept his cool and, with a soft chip, beat the Verona goalkeeper to send the away end wild.

For El Shaarawy, it was also a goal with special meaning: the forward had not scored in Serie A for Roma since January 2025. A goal that may not only have closed out the match, but also his time in Giallorosso in the most emotional way possible.

🤩 GENIUS Dybala: the UNUSUAL position and the assist

An incredible piece of play from Paulo Dybala, who made a decisive impact in Verona-Roma in astonishing fashion.

La Joya positioned himself by the byline at the edge of the box for Malen’s penalty and latched onto Montipò’s save, providing the assist for his teammate to make it 1-0 to the Giallorossi.

💣 Bowie handball, VAR and OFR: Malen MISSES, then taps in

Roma took the lead at the Bentegodi. The Giallorossi appealed for a possible handball in the box by Bowie. Referee Sozza was called to the monitor and, after reviewing the incident, judged the Verona player’s arm position to be unnatural and awarded a penalty.

Malen stepped up, but Montipò produced yet another superb save to keep out the penalty.

But the move continued: Dybala got to the loose ball first and set up Malen again, and this time from close range he made no mistake, slotting home Roma’s opener.

🟥 Dybala SHOW, Valentini sent off: Verona down to 10

Turning point at the Bentegodi: Verona are down to ten men against Roma.

Dybala was once again at the heart of it, unstoppable at the start of the second half. The Roma playmaker was pulled back on the edge of the box by Valentini, who had already been booked earlier: the referee had no doubts and showed a second yellow card, followed by the red.

😱 Svilar MIRACLE: STUNNING save on Bowie

Svilar miracle! Verona nearly took the lead through Bowie, perfectly played in behind by Lovric. The striker managed to get away from Ghilardi and found himself completely alone in front of the Roma goalkeeper.

But then Svilar took center stage, keeping his composure and producing a stunning save to tip the ball behind for a corner and deny Verona the goal.

🧨 Dybala curls one, Montipò says NO and puts up a wall 🧱

Big chance for Roma from a free kick. Dybala bent a perfect left-footed effort toward the top corner, a powerful and precise strike that seemed destined for the net.

But Montipò responded with an extraordinary save: the Verona goalkeeper flew across and, with an outstretched hand, pushed the ball over the bar, saving his side from what looked like a certain goal.

🔥 Verona have a go, then Cristante goes SO close to scoring!

The clash at the Bentegodi got off to a flying start.

The home side looked dangerous right away through Bowie. First, the striker received the ball centrally after a fine move by Suslov down the left, adjusted quickly and fired at goal, only to find Svilar alert and making a comfortable save.

Soon after came another dangerous Verona counterattack, again with Bowie involved, but this time his attempt to cut back onto his right foot was stopped by a crucial intervention from Ghilardi.

Roma tried to respond mainly through possession and switches of play. Rensch had an effort blocked by the defense, then sent the ball back into the middle looking for Celik, but failed to find his teammate.

The first real Giallorossi chance instead fell to Cristante, who picked up the ball near the penalty spot and attempted a turn with his back to goal, but sent the effort wide of the target.

👀 Delay due to the CLASHES in Turin: what happened

Everything was ready at the Bentegodi for Verona-Roma, with both teams already on the pitch waiting for the official green light from Turin for the final round of Serie A matches to begin.

Meanwhile, tensions were extremely high in the Piedmont capital, where the derby between Torino and Juventus was scheduled to take place. Before the match, serious clashes broke out between the two sets of fans, with early reports saying a Juventus supporter had been hospitalized in critical condition with a head injury.

According to DAZN, the Juventus ultras had asked the team not to play the match. Locatelli and other Juventus players reportedly went over to the away section to speak with the fans.

After a few minutes’ delay, the match finally kicked off at the Bentegodi.

🗣️ Gasperini: "We know the goal is within reach"

Gian Piero Gasperini spoke to DAZN before the match:

“We know we’ve had an important journey and winning the derby was also a great satisfaction. Now we know this is the final step toward achieving a goal that would be really positive for everyone.”

🔍 What Roma need for the Champions League

Roma did not need to look at results elsewhere: winning at the Bentegodi would complete the job and take the Giallorossi back among Europe’s elite.

Roma’s last appearance in Europe’s top competition dates back to March 6, 2019, when they were knocked out by Porto in the round of 16 after extra time. Since then, the fans have been waiting for a return to the biggest European stage.

✅ OFFICIAL lineups

VERONA (3-5-2): Montipò; Nelsson, Edmundsson, Valentini; Belghali, Akpa-Akpro, Lovric, Harroui, Frese; Suslov, Bowie. Coach: Sammarco

ROMA (3-4-2-1): Svilar; Ghilardi, Mancini, Hermoso; Celik, Cristante, Pisilli, Rensch; Soulé, Dybala; Malen. Coach: Gasperini

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.

📸 Alessandro Sabattini - 2026 Getty Images