Roma suffered a 1-0 defeat to Lille in the Europa League, with the Italian side missing three penalties in a bizarre incident.

Roma’s Europa League campaign took a hit as they fell 1-0 to Lille at the Stadio Olimpico. The visitors stunned the home crowd with an early goal, scored by Arnar Haraldsson in the sixth minute. Haraldsson pounced on a loose ball in the box and calmly finished to give Lille a slender lead.

Despite the setback, Roma dominated possession and pressed hard for an equalizer. Matias Soulé tested the defense inside two minutes, and the Icelandic forward’s strike shifted the momentum. 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 agonizingly 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 couldn’t find the breakthrough, leaving Lille clinging onto their advantage heading into the second half.

Roma pushed hard after the interval but were left frustrated as Lille held firm to claim a narrow 1-0 victory. The Giallorossi saw chances fall to Lorenzo Pellegrini and Evan Ferguson early in the second half, but both attempts were off target. Gian Piero Gasperini made a flurry of changes to try and shift the momentum, introducing El Shaarawy, Mancini, Kone, and later Dovbyk.

The visitors looked dangerous on the counter and continued to test Roma’s backline from set-pieces. Ozer made a crucial save from Matias Soulé’s long-range strike, and the Lille goalkeeper was the hero for his side. 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 as substitute Dovbyk had a penalty saved, but it was retaken due to encroachment. The second penalty was again saved by Ozer, before having to be retaken again due to the same rule. Soulé took the third penalty, and once again the Lille shot-stopper denied the Giallorossi. Despite relentless pressure, Roma were unable to break through, and Lille took all three points.

The defeat means Roma has lost their first home match of a UEFA Cup/Europa League campaign, excluding play-offs, for only the second time in their history, after the 1-2 defeat against Nuremberg in 1988-89. Lille, on the other hand, secured a second consecutive group stage victory.