AS Roma struck late in their UEFA Europa League last-16 first-leg clash with Serie A rivals Bologna FC 1909 as substitute Lorenzo Pellegrini cancelled out Federico Bernardeschi’s opener to secure a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara.

In a first half punctuated by frequent fouls and stoppages, Roma produced the best chance of the opening period. Bryan Zaragoza dragged a shot wide from 18 yards in the 20th minute following a swift counterattack orchestrated by Donyell Malen.

Bologna struggled to threaten in response, though Mile Svilar was forced into action two minutes before the break, sprinting across his line to push away Bernardeschi’s powerful 25-yard effort.

The tempo improved markedly after the restart, with Bologna striking first in the 49th minute. Jonathan Rowe slipped a clever pass along the edge of Roma’s penalty area to free Bernardeschi in the right channel, and the Italy international curled an unstoppable angled drive past Svilar.

Roma responded quickly, with Malen leading the fightback. The Dutch forward sent a close-range effort narrowly past Lukasz Skorupski’s near post just four minutes later, before Svilar raced off his line to bravely deny Tommaso Pobega on the hour mark.

As the game opened up, Roma found their equaliser through the alert Pellegrini. Captain Bryan Cristante forced a mistake from Joao Mario down the left flank, and his through ball allowed Malen to test Skorupski. With Bologna’s defence slow to clear the loose ball, Pellegrini calmly slotted home from 10 yards.

The closing stages remained tense, with Malen coming agonisingly close to snatching a dramatic winner in the 76th minute as his miscued toe poke was deflected onto the post by Jhon Lucumi. Bologna substitute Charalampos Lykogiannis also nearly had the final say, thundering a header against Svilar’s crossbar in the 90th minute.

The draw extends Bologna’s unbeaten run in the Europa League to 10 matches since their opening league-phase defeat to Aston Villa. Vincenzo Italiano’s side are also unbeaten in their last five home meetings with Roma across all competitions ahead of the decisive second leg in Rome on March 19.