Panathinaikos – Roma, Getty Images January 30, 2026, 12:03 AM

The extremely difficult task in the updated format of the UEFA Europa League is to secure such a result in the opening seven rounds, which would be enough to turn the final game day at the end of January into a mere formality. This can be done only by a limited number of teams, which are not included in the current draw, for example, the Italian Roma.

For the final match, the “wolves” traveled to Athens to face local team Panathinaikos in order to secure a place in the top eight teams, where they were at the beginning of the day. An additional reward in this case is the absence of two matches of the previous round of the playoffs on the schedule, which in the modern realities of European football is quite a good bonus for effort. Meanwhile, Rafael Benitez’s team could only cautiously dream of some fantastic coincidence that would allow Panathinaikos to immediately jump over 10 positions in the standings at the end of the tour.

And in fact, the “green and white” team made it clear at the beginning of the game that the European Cups in the coming days will not be the cornerstone of success for them. Because the personnel potential of “Pao” was significantly reduced, and there was no special tournament motivation there. Roma, on the other hand, wanted to quickly resolve all issues and spend as few resources as possible on this game. It didn’t work out.

In the 15th minute, the advantage of the Romans on the ball instantly melted away due to a foul by Mancini against Pantovich, who received a throw to the right flank of the counterattack and sought to meet the goalkeeper. The foul as the last defender of the Roma player was seen only with the help of VAR, after which the guests remained in the minority, and the very nature of the game underwent significant changes.

Here, the Italians clearly did not want to attack, but the opponents did not actively seek to take advantage of the sudden advantage in the first half. Only Catrice’s long-range strike on the crossbar in the 37th minute from the right wing made Gollini nervous, but still did not get into the game properly. In the second half, the Greeks still pressed the opponents to the missed goal.

And to be honest, Roma scored a goal for themselves when a simple clearance from the right wing of the free kick by Gollini suddenly turned into a series of unsuccessful actions by the defenders and the final pass by Gilardi headed back right into the feet of Tabordi in his own penalty area. The rival of the Romans did not forgive this clumsiness.

In this way, Benitez’s team gained an advantage on their own field, but their personnel troubles did not give them the opportunity to think about something more. The home team retreated to defend their own goal under the curtain of the match, but could not hold on to the victory. In the 80th minute, Pizzilli’s pass from the right wing ended in a poor header from Katris, who transferred the ball to the far post straight to the head of Zyulkowski, who saved the evening for Gasperini’s wards.

As a result, Greece’s Panathinaikos ended the main round of the UEFA Europa League in 20th place with 12 points, while Italy’s Roma finished eighth with 16 points.

Roma: Gollini — Mancini, Zulkowski, Gilardi — Celik (Renche, 64), Pizzilli, Cristante (Wesley, 64), El-Ainaoui, Tsimikas (Angelinho, 88) — Sule (Ndika, 46), Pellegrini (Della Rocca, 67).

Warning: Siopis — Pizilli

Gianluca Mancini (Roma) was sent off in the 15th minute (foul).