Paulo Dybala scored an 89th-minute penalty to seal a Europa League place for Roma next season, as they beat Spezia 2-1 in a dramatic game at the Stadio Olympico.
The result means relegation is in jeopardy. Spezia face Hellas Verona in a relegation play-off next week which will decide who stays on next season.
Jose Mourinho’s side needed to win tonight to prevent Juventus from overtaking them in the Serie A standings, with Max Allegri’s side trailing them by just one point in seventh before kick-off. The Old Lady then secured a 1-0 win over Udinese to keep the pressure on the I Giallorossi.
But it was Roma who won the final Place in the Europa League, even after Spezia defender Dimitrios Nikolaou stunned the hosts early on, heading after just six minutes to score them a goal.
While the fans inside the stadium erupted in full-time joy, the victory came at a cost, as Tammy Abraham suffered a nasty knee injury and was taken off the field in great pain.
Paulo Dybala (pictured) scored a late goal to give Roma a 2-1 win over Spezia on Sunday
The win meant Roma would now qualify for next year’s Europa League following their gruesome final loss to Sevilla this week.
It was a dramatic game that had several penalty shouts, a red card, lots of drama and some great goals
There were plenty of talking points to come in this match, most of them around the Roma manager, with questions recently arising over whether Mourinho will stay at the Serie A club next season.
The 60-year-old was also heavily criticized this week after he fired abusive language at referee Anthony Taylor after Roma’s Europa League final loss to Sevilla.
And although he has since been charged by UEFA for his conduct, he was not on the touchline at the Stadio Olympico tonight as he is currently serving a ban after receiving his fifth yellow card of the season in of his side’s 2-1 loss to Fiorentina. last week.
Despite this, fans inside the stadium applauded the head coach, letting out a huge cheer when the Italian’s name was announced on the tannoy, before revealing a banner that read ‘We are with you Soft”.
But Roma may still be feeling the effects of their agonizing defeat in Thursday’s final, losing a goal shortly after kick-off.
Dybala (pictured middle) was at the center of the drama, making several penalty shouts while scoring the game-winning goal
Jose Mourinho, who was heavily criticized this week after verbally abusing Anthony Taylor, was not in the dungeon as he served a suspension
Dimitrios Nikolaou (right) scored Spezia’s first goal to put them 1-0 up after six minutes
Spezia kicked a free kick into Roma’s penalty area with Mehdi Bourabia collecting the ball on the right side of the box.
Showing excellent vision, he swung a quick cross past the goalmouth towards Nikolaou who met the ball with his head and pumped it and passed Mile Svilar into the net to score his first goal of the season. .
Spezia were released shortly after, Stephan El Shaarawy deflecting a threatening effort from 25 yards off the crossbar. The Italian was one of four substitutes for Roma after their midweek defeat, replacing Leonardo Spinazzola, while Abraham, Rui Patricio and Nemanja Matic also started on the bench.
The home side started to grow a bit more in the game, taking majority possession, but struggled to create chances. Andrea Belotti arrived inside the penalty area twice in a row raising his hands for two penalty cries. But neither was given.
El Shaarawy had a more substantial call soon after, breaking through before facing Kelvin Amian Adou inside the area and going to the ground. Again the referee waved play.
Roma squandered their chances but that’s a testament to Spezia’s defence, with Leonardo Semplici’s side frustrating the Europa League finalists for much of the opening 45 minutes.
Mourinho’s side would finally break the deadlock just before half-time, with Nicola Zalewski sending a curling ball towards the goal, with Edoardo Bove appearing to head it. He stalked away claiming the goal, but on second impression it was hard to see if he had made contact, or even changed the direction of the ball’s flight.
Either way, Roma would come in at half-time having worked their way into the game, but really should have been a few goals ahead, having had 71% possession and 10 attempts on goal. in the first half.
They started much brighter in the second half, with Zalewski again showing some grip, playing a wonderful pass in front of goal to Lorenzo Pellegrini, who couldn’t quite wrap his foot around the ball to tap.
Belotti was substituted in the 63rd minute meaning he would end his first season with Roma without scoring a goal in Serie A, despite having made 30 league appearances this season.
Midway through the second half, news spread around the stadium that Juventus had scored, excluding Roma from the Europa League places at that point and frustrations quickly began to spill over the goal line. touch of Roma in a few frantic minutes.
Things almost went from bad to worse when M’Bala Nzola arrived in the penalty area in a dangerous position and could have snagged the winning goal for Spezia. Instead, he couldn’t hold his shot and he flew over the bar. Roma, meanwhile, came up the other end of the pitch, with Dybala breaking through the opposition back line before tangling with Arkadiusz Reca and crashing inside the box. He appealed to the referee for another penalty, but again to no avail.
Roma equalized before half-time with Edoardo Bove (second from right) appearing to head into Nicola Zalewski’s pass (not pictured)
But Dybala was the winner of the match, scoring in the 89th minute to secure sixth place for Roma.
Dybala has now scored 12 times in the league for Roma and played a central role in attack for them today
Spezia, meanwhile, face Hellas Verona in a relegation play-off next week to decide who leaves Serie A this season.
The Argentine was in the thick of the action five minutes later, receiving a yellow card after facing several opposition players. The 29-year-old then had another chance to test Jeroen Zoet in net with a superb long-range effort.
The Spezia goalkeeper would again be called upon to deny Roma another close chance moments later, but with the home side knocking on the door, his side finally succumbed to a late kick.
El Shaarawy was knocked down in the Spezia box by Amian, who received a second yellow card, reducing the opposing team to 10 players.
Dybala converted the pressure kick by sending his shot into the top left corner to score his 12th league goal of the season, while securing Roma’s place in sixth place in the Serie A table as well as their place in Europa League next season.
Despite eight more minutes of added time, Spezia failed to equalize and will face Hellas Verona next week in a relegation play-off, having been beaten 3-1 by AC Milan at the San Siro. .
