Serie A: Roma 2-0 Verona — Malen and El Shaarawy Secure Top Four

Malen rebound goal sends Roma into Champions League

Stephan El Shaarawy netted in stoppage time of his last Roma game to confirm Champions League qualification. Donyell Malen opened the scoring after a saved penalty.

Malen’s rebound goal and El Shaarawy’s stoppage-time strike gave Roma a 2-0 win over Verona. Valentini’s red card and VAR penalty shaped the match...

Donyell Malen had his penalty saved but scored on the rebound from Paulo Dybala’s assist. The goal sent Roma into the Champions League alongside Stephan El Shaarawy.

Roma knew a win would secure a top four finish. Wesley was suspended after the heated Derby della Capitale, while Evan Ndicka, Lorenzo Pellegrini, Bryan Zaragoza and Evan Ferguson were injured. Both Matias Soulé and Niccolò Pisilli started behind Paulo Dybala and Donyell Malen.

Hellas Verona had been relegated weeks earlier but had drawn three of their last four games, including matches against Juventus and Inter. Roberto Gagliardini missed out through suspension, with Daniel Mosquera, Suat Serdar and Daniel Oyegoke also sidelined.

The hosts started aggressively, with Kieron Bowie forcing Mile Svilar into a save in the opening minute. Bryan Cristante then drilled an effort wide for Roma.

The visitors took time to settle. Paulo Dybala’s free kick was tipped over the crossbar by Lorenzo Montipò with an acrobatic save.

Verona had a huge chance just before half-time. Svilar rushed off his line and made a desperate one-handed save to deny Bowie in a one-on-one situation.

Dybala curled a free kick wide of the near post. Two incidents then changed the game in quick succession. Lautaro Valentini picked up a second yellow card for a foul on Dybala, and moments later Montipò palmed away a Matias Soulé free kick.

Bowie was then caught handling the ball by VAR, giving Roma a penalty. Malen’s spot-kick was saved by Montipò, but he followed up to bundle the rebound over the line from a Dybala assist and put Roma ahead.

🔚 It’s all over! Roma win against Verona and qualify for the Champions League 🏆#ASRoma #VeronaRoma pic.twitter.com/GeoKdoyojE

— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) May 24, 2026

Soule forced another awkward save from Montipo, and the goalkeeper then used his legs to keep out Dybala after a Devyne Rensch counter-attack.

Roma missed several chances to seal the win through Malen. He couldn’t get his head to a strong cross, and later ran onto a Stephan El Shaarawy pass but took it too wide and narrowed the angle.

👑 | Dybala is your player of the match against Verona! #ASRoma #VeronaRoma pic.twitter.com/P9b02dp1WF

— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) May 25, 2026

They added a final goal in stoppage time through Stephan El Shaarawy in his last game for Roma. The goal sealed their return to the Champions League. It came from a generous gesture by Dybala, who was played through by El Shaarawy but waited and back-heeled it for El Shaarawy to sweep home.