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BOLOGNA, ITALY – APRIL 25: Neil El Aynaoui of AS Roma celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal with his teammate Donyell Malen during the Serie A match between Bologna FC 1909 and AS Roma at Renato Dall’Ara Stadium on April 25, 2026 in Bologna, Italy. (Photo by Emmanuele Ciancaglini/Getty Images)
Roma gained some revenge for their Europa League exit by beating Bologna 2-0 with Donyell Malen and Neil El Aynaoui goals, plus the return of Paulo Dybala.
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These sides met only last month in the Europa League Round of 16, the first leg ending 1-1 at the Dall’Ara, then 3-3 at the Olimpico, Bologna eventually winning 4-3 in extra time.
This was the first Giallorossi match since special advisor Claudio Ranieri was sacked for a public row with Gian Piero Gasperini, and while Wesley and Devyne Rensch were available again plus Paulo Dybala on the bench after three months out, they still missed Manu Koné, Lorenzo Pellegrini, Artem Dovbyk and Evan Ferguson.
The Rossoblu were without Federico Bernardeschi, Lukasz Skorupski, Thijs Dallinga and Nicolò Casale, but surprisingly opted for a three-man defence.
See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.
It took under seven minutes to break the deadlock, as Wesley sparked the move, Neil El Aynaoui threaded through and Malen beat the on-rushing Federico Ravaglia to put Roma in front.
Malen came close again with a dinked finish inches wide on Wesley’s assist, while the first real Bologna chance on 32 minutes saw Mile Svilar use his legs to deny Riccardo Orsolini’s angled drive at the near post.
Eivind Helland made a crucial block on Malen’s strike, but just as Bologna were pushing for an equaliser on a corner, they were caught napping for 2-0 on the counter-attack. Wesley’s pass was over-hit for Malen, but the striker chased it down and put the cross back in from the right for El Aynaoui’s cushioned volley from six yards.
After the restart, Orsolini fired over on the counter, and a ferocious Jens Odgaard strike was charged down, but Orsolini came so close on the hour mark with a screamer that smashed against the underside of the crossbar and bounced out.
Joao Mario went off with a muscular injury, but Dybala made his return after three months out of action.
Bologna had a good chance in stoppages when Odgaard pulled back from the by-line for unmarked Lorenzo De Silvestri, but Svilar got a fingertip to it, pushing the ball away from the veteran.
Bologna 0-2 Roma
Malen 7 (R), El Aynaoui 45+1 (R)
25-04-2026 17:00
MatchDay 34
Renato Dall’Ara StadiumBolognaRoma
Live0 – 2
Player statistic
| 7' | Donyell Malen(Assist: Neil El Aynaoui) |
| 45+1' | Neil El Aynaoui(Assist: Donyell Malen) |
| 46' | Mario Hermoso |
| 66' | Devyne Rensch |
| 69' | Neil El Aynaoui |
Bologna
Roma
Starting lineups
13
Federico Ravaglia
Goalkeeper
5
Eivind Helland
Defender
77′
26
Jhon Lucumí
Defender
17
João Mário
Defender
66′
33
Juan Miranda
Defender
46′
14
Torbjørn Heggem
Defender
11
Jonathan Rowe
Midfielder
19
Lewis Ferguson
Midfielder
8
Remo Freuler
Midfielder
7
Riccardo Orsolini
Attacker
77′
9
Santiago Castro
Attacker
46′
99
Mile Svilar
Goalkeeper
5
Evan Ndicka
Defender
23
Gianluca Mancini
Defender
22
Mario Hermoso
Defender
61′
43
Wesley
Defender
19
Zeki Celik
Defender
46′
4
Bryan Cristante
Midfielder
8
Neil El Aynaoui
Midfielder
61
Niccolò Pisilli
Midfielder
14
Donyell Malen
Attacker
77′
18
Matìas Soulé
Attacker
61′
Substitutes
22
Charalampos Lykogiannis
Defender
4
Tommaso Pobega
Midfielder
23
Simon Sohm
Midfielder
6
Nikola Moro
Midfielder
30
Benja Domínguez
Attacker
25
Massimo Pessina
Goalkeeper
82
Matteo Franceschelli
Goalkeeper
73
Francesco Castaldo
Attacker
20
Nadir Zortea
Defender
46′
21
Jens Odgaard
Attacker
46′
29
Lorenzo De Silvestri
Defender
66′
28
Nicolò Cambiaghi
Attacker
77′
41
Martin Vitik
Defender
77′
92
Stephan El Shaarawy
Attacker
3
Angeliño
Defender
95
Pierluigi Gollini
Goalkeeper
12
Konstantinos Tsimikas
Defender
24
Jan Ziolkowski
Defender
97
Bryan Zaragoza
Attacker
70
Giorgio De Marzi
Goalkeeper
20
Lorenzo Venturino
Attacker
2
Devyne Rensch
Defender
46′
87
Daniele Ghilardi
Defender
61′
78
Robinio Vaz
Attacker
61′
21
Paulo Dybala
Attacker
77′
