In the second leg of the 2025/26 UEFA Europa League Round of 16, Bologna traveled to Rome. They ultimately won a hard-fought 4-3 victory, advancing to the quarterfinals with a 5-4 aggregate score.

Both teams traded attacks in the opening stages, but neither could create any real threat. In the 22nd minute, Bologna finally broke the deadlock: Santiago Castro crossed from the left wing to the edge of the box, where Jonathan Rodriguez unleashed a powerful shot that pierced the Roma goal.

Following that, Bologna and Roma continued their attacking battle. In the 28th minute, Roma broke through and delivered a precise diagonal pass, allowing Federico Bernardeschi to enter the penalty area from the right wing before his curling shot from a tight angle went just wide. In the 31st minute, Roma won a free kick in the attacking third, but Lorenzo Pellegrini's direct shot hit the left post. One minute later, Pellegrini took a corner kick from the left, and Evan Ndicka headed it in at the far post to level the score for Roma.

With one minute remaining in the first half, Nader Zortya went down in the penalty area after a physical contact with Stefan El Shaarawy, and the referee promptly awarded Bologna a penalty. Bernardeschi converted the penalty, giving Bologna a one-goal lead going into halftime.

The second half began with both sides switching sides. In the 58th minute, Brian Cristante and Ndicca made consecutive clearance errors, allowing Castro to capitalize and score with a powerful shot. However, Bologna then gave Roma a chance to catch up: in the 68th minute, Remo Freuler conceded a penalty by pushing Robinho Vaz from behind in the box, and Donyell Malen converted the penalty, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way before slotting a low shot into the bottom right corner. In the 80th minute, Vaz delivered a cross from the right side of the box, and Pellegrini curled a shot into the net to equalize again.

With the score tied after regulation time, the two teams had to go into extra time to decide the winner. In the 111th minute, Tes Daringa delivered a through ball from the left flank, and Nicolo Cambiaghi followed up with a shot to seal the victory. Ultimately, Bologna defeated Roma thanks to Cambiaghi's crucial goal.

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