 In a repeat of the previous season's quarter-final, Roma were again eliminated from the Champions League by eventual winners Manchester United.However, they did succeed in their defence of the Coppa Italia, once again defeating "Scudetto" winners Inter in the 2008 Coppa Italia Final — a single match which Roma won 2–1.Spalletti faced a difficult 2008–09 season with Roma, only managing to qualify for the UEFA Europa League with a sixth-place position in the league, after a struggling initial period that left the "giallorossi" in the bottom half of the league for the first part of the Serie A season.