Roma – Stuttgart, Getty Images January 22, 2026, 11:58 p.m

The UEFA Europa League, after updating the format of the European Cups, was also extended until the end of January next year in the form of two additional rounds. Therefore, immediately after the evenings of the Champions League, we had to switch our attention to the second strongest international club tournament of the Old World, where the density in the upper part is clearly no less.

And so we continue to watch the performances of Italian Roma even in the context of the serious injury of Ukrainian striker Artem Dovbyk. All the more so as Gian Piero Gasperini’s team still claims to go directly to the 1/8 finals, on the way to which it had to beat, in particular, one of its direct competitors — the German Stuttgart.

Despite the fact that the experienced Italian coach dared to rotate in this game, the pattern of his team’s game did not change at all. At the beginning of the game, Roma calmly gave the ball to the opponents, but they instead created a chance in the first half, except for a moment with Leveling’s shot from the right wing of the free kick in the 33rd minute, which Svilara had to drag. In the meantime, the “wolves” harnessed in front for as long as possible, but at the end of the first half, Sule’s pass to the right flank of the penalty area did find Pizzilli, who fired a shot into the goal from an acute angle.

Having gained an advantage by score, Roma gave the “Swabians” too much of the ball at their own goal even in the second half. And in fact, it almost ended, if Undav in two excellent moments in the center of someone else’s penalty area would have started to hit somewhere, except for the opponent’s goalkeeper. Later, Demirović joined the attack partner with a crazy unrealized double moment, and the last word in the game remained for all the same Pizzilli, who at the end of the match found a cross from the right wing to the nearby Dybala in a solo attack.

In the next round, Italy’s Roma will visit Greece’s Panathinaikos, while Germany’s Stuttgart will host Switzerland’s Young Boys.

Stuttgart: Nübel — Assignon (Vagnoman, 81), Yeltsch, Chabot, Hendricks — Karazor, Chema (Spalt, 81) — Leveling, Fürich (Demirovych, 70), Mittelstedt (Buanani, 70) — Undav.

Warning: Celik – Mittelstedt, Chabot