Roma's Champions League Hopes: A Narrow Path Through Atalanta's Success

With the victory over Genoa, Roma can continue to hope for a place in the Champions League. The top club competition of UEFA was the seasonal goal of the Giallorossi, and it has been fading away in this final phase of the championship. The fifth place secured by Atalanta and the failure to reach the Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen have made the competition for the big-eared cup increasingly distant. However, the hopes of the Giallorossi are dimmed but not yet extinguished. De Rossi and the future of Roma: 'We need to change, I know what I want.' For Roma, there is now only one possible scenario to enter the Champions League. This depends entirely on Atalanta, who denied Lukaku and his teammates the fifth place in Serie A. The Giallorossi managed to secure the sixth place thanks to the victory over Genoa and the draw of Inter with Lazio, which thus remains seventh at -3. This placement, in fact, would allow De Rossi to achieve the seasonal goal, but under one condition. For Roma to enter the competition, Atalanta needs to win the Europa League. At the same time, the Bergamaschi must finish fifth in the league, and in this way, the Giallorossi would be part of the new edition of the tournament next year. Besides the positive scenario, it is good to remember also the negative one that could materialize despite the sixth place of Roma and the possible victory of the Europa League by Atalanta. If the Bergamaschi were to lift the trophy to the sky but also manage to advance in Serie A by overtaking either Bologna or Juventus, or even both given the single point of advantage, then there would be no sixth slot for the Italian teams in the Champions. If Atalanta were to finish fourth or third, then the position valid for the competition would not shift, with Roma still forced to play in the Europa League.