Roma, tied in ten: it’s straight to the round of 16. Bologna win but must settle for playoff

Roma straight to the round of 16, Bologna to the playoff with a hint of regret. This is, in a nutshell, the response of the last day of the Europa League maxi round, played entirely on Thursday night with eighteen matches at the same time, in which the Giallorossi managed to draw 1-1 in ten men against Panathinaikos getting the decisive point, while the Felsini got the better pr 3-0 on the neutral in Backa Topola against Maccabi Tel Aviv, but paid for the results of the previous matches missing direct access to the round of 16.

The Giallorossi were able to win the match in Athens, but the Bologna team was not able to win the match.

Roma&#8217s match in Athens began under far from good auspices since as early as 15′ Mancini, holding back Pantovic who had thrown a shot on net, got himself sent off, leaving his team in a numerical inferiority (decisive was the review of the action on the sidelines by the referee, who had initially opted for yellow). Pao, already dangerous with the crossbar at 37′ by Katris, went ahead at 58′ with Taborda, who took advantage of a mistake by Ghilardi and scored. When everything suggests mockery, however, Ziolkowski arrives to set things right, netting the equalizing goal at the 80’80’. Just enough for the final 1-1, which is worth eighth place in the standings tied with Genk, but with a better goal difference (+6 vs. +4).

Much more linear was the match performance of Bologna, which after a goal cancelled out on 22′ of the first half after a long review (Orsolini scoring, but the offside position of the Rossoblù attacker weighed in) placed the first strike on 35′ with Rowe, whose tap-in after Moro’s shot rejected by Melika was the winner. The second half was on velvet: Orsolini redeemed himself to score, this time regularly, at 48′ at 78′ the VAR took away a penalty initially awarded for a suspicious contact between Revivo and Zortea, and at 94′ Pobega closed in beauty, with a first-intention shot that left no chance for the opponent goalkeeper. It was not enough, however, to move beyond 10th place, just one point behind eighth-place Roma.

These are all the final results of the last Europa League match: Aston Villa-Salzburg 3-2, Basel-Viktoria Plzen 0-1, Betis-Feyenoord 2-1, Celtic-Utrecht 4-2, Porto-Rangers 3-1, FCBS-Feberbahce 1-1, Go Ahead Eagles-Braga 0-0, Genk-Malmo 2-1, Lille-Fribourg 1-0, Lyon-Paok 4-2, Ludogorets-Nice 1-0, Maccabi Tel Aviv-Bologna 0-3, Midtyjlland-Dinamo Zagreb 2-0, Nottingham Forest-Ferencvaros 4-0, Panathinaikos-Rome 1-1, Red Star-Celta Vigo 1-1, Stuttgart-Young Boys 3-2, Sturm Graz-Brann 1-0.

The top eight qualify for the round of 16: Lyon and Aston Villa with 21 points, Midtjylland with 19, Betis, Porto, Braga and Freiburg with 17 and Roma with 16 (goal difference +6). In the playoffs Genk with 16 points (goal difference +4), Bologna. Stuttgart and Ferencvaros with 15, Nottingham Forest, Viktoria Plzen and Red Star with 14, Celta Vigo with 13, Paok, Lille, Fenerbahce and Panathinaikos with 12, Celtic with 11, Ludogorets and Dinamo Zagreb with 10, Brann with 9 points (goal difference -2).

Eliminated from the competition Young Boys with 9 points (goal difference -6), Sturm Graz, FCSB and Go Ahead Eagles with 7, Feyenoord, Basel and Salisbirgo with 6, Rangers with 4, Nice with 3, Utrecht, Malmo and Maccabi Tel Aviv with one point.