AS Roma 0-0 Bologna: Jose Mourinho’s side fail to make next year’s Champions League

AS Roma were held to a 0-0 draw by Bologna after Jose Mourinho decided to rotate his squad following their Europa Conference League semi-final against Leicester City on Thursday. 

Nicolo Zaniolo, Carles Perez and Marash Kumbulla had plenty of opportunities to finish the game off but failed to find the back of the net due to the superb performance of Bologna goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski. 

As a result, Mourinho’s side have failed to qualify for the 2022-23 Champions League campaign. The draw has, however, secured Napoli and Juventus’ spot in the European tournament next season. 

Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma side were held to a 0-0 draw by Bologna on Sunday evening 

The result means Roma have failed to qualify for next season’s Champions League campaign 

Roma went into the game feeling confident as 13th place Bologna had only won two of their previous six games. However, the fact Mourinho decided to rest the likes of Lorenzo Pellegrini, Rick Karsdorp, Chris Smalling, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan played a big role in the outcome of the game. 

With Abraham starting on the bench, Mourinho put his faith in Felix Afena-Gyan lead the attacking line alongside Nicolo Zaniolo and Carles Perez in support. However, they were unable to muster up a goal. 

Marko Arnautovic and Lorenzo Pellegrini also came close to scoring during the fixture on Sunday evening, while Musa Barrow hit the crossbar during injury-time. However, he was later called up for being offside. 

Once the final whistle went, Abraham dropped to his knees and held his head in his hands

Roma had plenty of opportunities to score but failed to find the back of the net on Sunday

Once the final whistle went, Abraham dropped to his knees and held his head in his hands due to the ramifications their draw would have on their campaign next season. 

The result came just days after AS Roma defender Gianluca Mancini scored an own goal to hand Leicester City a 1-1 home draw in their Europa Conference League semi-final, first leg on Thursday. 

The result has also ruled Roma out of next year’s Champions League campaign. Milan and Inter had already guaranteed their qualification but will now be joined by Napoli and Juventus. 

Napoli will be returning to the Champions League after a two-year absence, while Juventus have successfully confirmed their top four finish this season despite a poor start to the campaign. 

Mourinho will be disappointed with Roma’s inability to qualify for the Champions League after vowing to bring more silverware to the club when he joined.