Fresh from two painful defeats in the league against Genoa and Verona respectively, Bologna and Roma faced each other in the first leg of the Europa League round of 16 in an all-Italian derby, which ended in a 1-1 draw. In the first leg at the Stadio Dall'Ara, the two teams shared the spoils. The Rossoblù took the lead with a left-footed curler from Bernardeschi following a great individual move by Rowe, but Lorenzo Pellegrini equalised with a close-range finish after Malen's assist (which was met with some protests from the Emiliani).
Everything will therefore be decided in the return leg in exactly seven days' time at the Olimpico (the match will be played in the capital due to the Giallorossi's higher position in the league table).
