Europa League | Roma 0-1 Lille – Giallorossi show no Soule as plucky French side snatch 3 points – Football Italia

ROME, ITALY – OCTOBER 02: Olivier Giroud of LOSC Lille challenges Kostas Tsimikas of AS Roma during the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 League Phase MD2 match between AS Roma and LOSC Lille at Stadio Olimpico on October 02, 2025 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)

Roma lost 1-0 tonight as a plucky Lille side withstood immense pressure to come away with all three points from the Europa League tie. The Giallorossi’s misfortunes were summarised by a series of three penalty saves from the Lille goalkeeper, who denied Roma on three attempts after they had to be retaken due to encroachment.

The visitors stunned the home crowd after just six minutes, when Arnar Haraldsson pounced on a loose ball in the box and calmly finished to give Lille an early lead. Roma had started brightly, with Matias Soulé testing the defence inside two minutes, but the Icelandic forward’s strike shifted the momentum.

From there, Gian Piero Gasperini’s side pressed hard for an equaliser. Soulé and Evan Ferguson both saw shots blocked, while Lorenzo Pellegrini forced Lille goalkeeper Ozer into a fine save from distance midway through the half.

The Giallorossi continued to pile on the pressure, going agonisingly close in the 35th minute when Kostas Tsimikas and Neil El Aynaoui both had efforts denied before Mandi produced a superb clearance off the line.

Despite their dominance, Roma could not find the breakthrough, leaving Lille clinging onto their slender advantage heading into the second half.

Second-half woes sum up pain for Roma in loss to Lille

Roma pushed hard after the interval but were left frustrated as Lille held firm to claim a narrow 1-0 victory at the Olimpico.

The Giallorossi saw chances fall to Lorenzo Pellegrini and Evan Ferguson early in the second half, but both attempts were off target. Gasperini made a flurry of changes to try and shift the momentum, with El Shaarawy, Mancini, Kone and later Dovbyk introduced, yet the Lille defence stood tall.

The visitors looked dangerous on the counter and continued to test Roma’s backline from set-pieces, while goalkeeper Ozer made a crucial save from Matias Soulé’s long-range strike.

Roma’s best chance arrived with just under ten minutes to go, when VAR awarded a penalty for a handball by Mandi. 

However, chaos followed. Substitute Dovbyk had a penalty saved, retaken due to encroachment. The second penalty was again saved by Ozer, before having to be retaken again due to the same rule. Soule took the third penalty and once again the Lille shot-stopped denied the Giallorossi.

Despite relentless pressure, Roma were unable to break through and Lille took all three points.

You can follow all the updates as they happened on our LiveBlog.