Overview
- Federico Bernardeschi put Bologna ahead on 50 minutes before substitute Lorenzo Pellegrini leveled on 71, with both teams also hitting the frame of the goal.
- Roma were without Paulo Dybala, Matias Soule, Artem Dovbyk and Evan Ferguson and also missed suspended Gianluca Mancini, as January arrivals Donyell Malen and Bryan Zaragoza made Europa League debuts.
- Left-back Juan Miranda was cautioned in the 13th minute and will be suspended for next week’s second leg in Rome.
- Bologna’s Vincenzo Italiano and Santiago Castro criticized referee Sven Jablonski as too permissive, citing repeated grappling on Castro and a disputed contact before Roma’s equaliser that stood after a VAR check.
- Italiano and Roma’s Gian Piero Gasperini both described the tie as finely balanced ahead of the return at the Stadio Olimpico, where only one Italian club will progress to the quarter-finals.