Roma confirmed the Champions League at the Bentegodi: Malen and El Shaarawy broke Verona
AS Roma ended the Serie A season with a 0:2 victory against Hellas Verona at the Marcantonio Bentegodi stadium in Verona, in the Matchday 38 game played on 24 May 2026. According to the officially published Lega Serie A result, the Roman side took three points in the final round and thereby confirmed third place in the table. The goals were scored by Donyell Malen in the 56th minute and Stephan El Shaarawy in stoppage time, giving the end of the match a clear scoreline framework after a demanding first half. Roma thereby, according to the club’s announcement, secured participation in the Champions League next season, while Hellas Verona finished the season in 19th place and were relegated from Serie A. The match carried significant weight in terms of the result for the visitors, because the final order at the top of the table also depended on the outcomes of the other matches in the final round.
A match with high stakes for Roma
Roma arrived in Verona with a clear task: by winning, not to leave any room for uncertainty in the fight for qualification for the Champions League. According to the final table published by Lega Serie A, Gian Piero Gasperini’s team finished the season with 73 points, a record of 23 wins, four draws and 11 defeats, and a goal difference of plus 28. Such a finish was enough for third place, behind champions Inter and second-placed Napoli, and ahead of Como, Milan and Juventus. The victory at the Bentegodi was therefore not only a successful closing of the championship, but also confirmation of Roma’s return among the clubs that will play in Europe’s strongest competition. AS Roma emphasised in its announcement that the club is returning to the Champions League after seven years, which gives the match in Verona additional sporting and institutional importance.
For Hellas Verona, the circumstances were different. The club entered the final round already burdened by the battle at the bottom of the standings, and the final table confirms that it finished the season in 19th place with 21 points, three wins, 12 draws and 23 defeats. According to the same data, Verona ended the season with a goal difference of minus 36, which clearly shows how difficult it was for them to maintain balance between defence and attack during the championship. Although the match could not change the broader direction of the season for the home side in the same way as it could for Roma, playing in front of the home crowd carried competitive and symbolic value. Verona kept the match open for a long time in the first half, but the continuation brought them a situation from which it became increasingly difficult to return.
A goalless first half, the continuation brought the decision
The first half ended without goals, in a match in which Roma did not immediately manage to turn greater possession and territorial initiative into an advantage. According to the statistical display of the match, the visitors had 70 percent possession of the ball and 12 total shots, while Verona finished with 30 percent possession and six attempts. Such numbers show that Roma controlled the larger part of the game, but also that the home team were not completely passive. Verona tried on several occasions to exploit the space behind the visiting line and force Roma to remain cautious, especially while the score was still 0:0. In such a rhythm, details were especially important, and one of them changed the balance of power at the start of the second half.
According to the course of the match, Nicolás Valentini was sent off in the 50th minute, so Verona had to play the final part of the match with a player less. That opened more space for Roma between the home lines, but it did not immediately remove the pressure carried by a match with such stakes. Only six minutes after the sending-off came the key moment: Donyell Malen took a penalty kick, Lorenzo Montipò saved his first attempt, but the Roma forward remained composed enough for the move not to break down. AS Roma stated in the club announcement that Malen scored after his initial penalty was stopped, with an assist from Paulo Dybala in the continuation of the move. That goal in the 56th minute broke the match open and shifted the psychological advantage to the visitors’ side.
Dybala as the link, Malen as the executor
Malen’s goal carried special weight because it came in a period in which Roma could no longer allow nerves to take over the match. After the saved penalty, the situation could have become a source of additional tension, but the forward’s quick reaction and Dybala’s role in the continuation of the move kept the visitors on the path toward their goal. In the match highlights, RaiPlay states that Dybala’s assist actions were also important for Roma, confirming the impression that the Argentine attacker was one of the key players in connecting the final and attacking thirds of the pitch. Roma did not have to play spectacularly to be effective; they had to find enough calmness in the most important moments. Malen turned that moment into a lead that changed the dynamics of the match.
After the goal, Verona had to take more risks, but because of the player less they had limited possibilities for longer spells of pressure. Roma, on the other hand, could manage the match more patiently, keep the ball and wait for the space that would open as the home side looked for an equaliser. According to the available statistical data, Roma had seven shots on target, and Verona three, showing that the visiting team more often reached the finishing phase with a real threat. At the same time, RaiPlay also highlights the importance of Mile Svilar in the summary, which indicates that the Roma goalkeeper was not merely an observer in the match despite his team’s dominance in possession. Such interventions often remain in the shadow of the scorers, but in decisive matches, preserving a minimal advantage is just as important as scoring a goal.
El Shaarawy concluded the evening and symbolically closed the story
The second goal came in the 90+3rd minute, when Stephan El Shaarawy set the final score at 0:2. According to the published course of the match, the assistant was again Paulo Dybala, and the goal came at a moment when Verona were already trying to find the last opportunity for a comeback. AS Roma described that goal as a stoppage-time strike that sealed the victory, while RaiPlay also listed Malen and El Shaarawy as the scorers in the match summary. For Roma, the second goal was important because it removed any remaining uncertainty and allowed the final minutes to pass without scoreline risk. In matches of the final round, in which other results are also followed at the same time, such closing of a duel also has psychological value for the team, the coaching staff and the fans.
El Shaarawy’s goal also had a strong emotional note. Specialised media that follow Roma pointed out that the appearance in Verona was connected with a farewell tone to his period at the club, while the goal itself came at a moment when Roma were already on the verge of confirming their European objective. In a strictly results-based sense, the goal meant a calm finish and confirmation of the victory. In a broader sense, it was one of those final details that give a season narrative completeness: a veteran scoring in stoppage time, a team confirming the Champions League, and an away match that turns from a potentially dangerous obstacle into the final point of a successful race. Such episodes are often remembered longer than the statistics themselves.
The final table changed the weight of the victory
When the match is viewed through the final table, its importance is further strengthened. Lega Serie A states that Roma finished the season third with 73 points, while Como were fourth with 71 points, Milan fifth with 70, and Juventus sixth with 69 points. Football Italia, in its overview of the final outcomes, states that Inter, Napoli, Roma and Como qualified for the Champions League, while Milan and Juventus remained outside that competition. This means that Roma not only defended a favourable position but, in the direct run-in, took advantage of their rivals’ slip. Milan’s defeat to Cagliari and Como’s success against Cremonese further shaped the final order, but Roma did the key part of the job themselves, with victory in Verona.
Such an outcome is especially significant because the battle for European places in the closing stages of Serie A was packed tightly. According to reports after the final round, Roma and Como joined Inter and Napoli in the Champions League, while Milan and Juventus remained in the Europa League zone. In practice, this means a major sporting and financial difference, because participation in the Champions League brings greater competitive prestige, stronger opponents and significantly higher revenue from European competitions. For Roma, who had long sought a stable return to the very top, third place represents confirmation of continuity in the final part of the season. For Italian football, meanwhile, the final order also brought one of the most interesting stories of the season: Como secured a historic qualification for the Champions League, while two traditional giants remained below the line.
Verona say goodbye to Serie A after a difficult season
For Verona, the defeat to Roma was not an isolated problem, but the final act of a season in which the team won too rarely and too often dropped points. The final table shows only three wins in 38 rounds, along with 12 draws and 23 defeats. Such a ratio rarely leaves room for survival, especially when accompanied by a negative goal difference of 36 goals. According to Football Italia’s overview, Verona are among the three clubs moving down to Serie B, together with Pisa and Cremonese. Relegation is a sporting blow, but also the beginning of a period in which the club will have to decide how to restructure the squad, keep the mainstays of the team and prepare for a demanding competition in the second tier.
In the match itself against Roma, Verona had periods of resistance and several moments in which they could have complicated the duel. However, Valentini’s sending-off and Malen’s goal soon after it significantly reduced the home side’s chances. Playing with ten men against a team chasing the Champions League requires almost perfect discipline, and Verona in the closing stages had to choose between protecting a minimal deficit and trying to come back. The second goal conceded in stoppage time confirmed that the home side did not have enough energy and structure for a turnaround. The final whistle therefore brought two completely different emotional states: Roman celebration because of the Champions League and Verona’s confrontation with the consequences of relegation.
Gasperini’s end to the season with a clear result
For Gian Piero Gasperini, victory in Verona has a value that goes beyond three points. AS Roma, in its announcement after the match, pointed out that his team finished third, and it is precisely such placements at clubs the size of Roma that are most often measured as the boundary between a successful and an insufficiently successful season. Through the spring, Gasperini had to find a formula that brought results in matches under pressure, and the closing stage of the championship showed that the team managed to stabilise its form at the crucial moment. RaiPlay states in the summary that Roma returned to the Champions League after seven years, a fact that will mark the overall assessment of the season. In that context, Verona were not only the final opponent, but the final test of maturity.
Roma showed several elements in Verona that are necessary for teams that want to play at the European level. First, they did not panic after a goalless first half. Second, they made use of the numerical advantage soon after it opened up. Third, they maintained defensive concentration until the finish and then closed the match with a second goal. Fourth, they had players who took responsibility in the most important situations: Malen as the finisher, Dybala as the creator and Svilar as the support when it was necessary to keep the net intact. These details do not by themselves guarantee success in the Champions League, but they explain why Roma, in the closing stages of Serie A, managed to finish ahead of part of their direct competition.
What the victory means for next season
Qualification for the Champions League changes the sporting and financial framework in which Roma enter the summer of 2026. The club will have a more attractive project for retaining key players and bringing in reinforcements, while at the same time it will have to broaden the squad for the rhythm of matches on the domestic and European stage. Participation in Europe’s strongest competition brings greater demands, especially for a team returning after several years of absence. The victory in Verona is therefore not the end of the story, but the beginning of a new cycle in which the performance standard will be raised further. For Roma fans, third place and a return to the Champions League represent a reason for optimism, but also a reminder that next season will require greater depth, stability and tactical adaptability.
For Verona, the next step will be different and far more pragmatic. The club must prepare for Serie B, a competition that often requires a different profile of team, more continuity and the ability to endure a long, physically demanding championship. Relegation usually brings changes in the squad, financial plans and sporting priorities, and Verona will have to quickly define a direction in order to remain competitive for a return. The match against Roma showed that the team was not without resistance, but the season as a whole showed that this resistance was not enough for survival. Bentegodi therefore saw two opposite football realities in the final round: a club returning to the European stage and a club that must rebuild its path toward Serie A.
Sources:
- Lega Serie A – official match result Verona - Roma and final Serie A 2025/26 table (link)
- AS Roma – club announcement about the 0:2 victory against Verona and qualification for the Champions League (link)
- RaiPlay – video highlights of Verona - Roma 0:2 with the listed scorers and key actors (link)
- Football Italia – overview of the final Serie A 2025/26 outcomes, European qualifications and relegations (link)
- SportyTrader – course of the match, goal minutes, sending-off and statistical display of the Hellas Verona - Roma duel (link)