Roma ended Atalanta’s 10-match unbeaten run in Serie A by thrashing them 4-1 at the Gewiss Stadium today. Jose Mourinho’s side got off to the best possible start as Tammy Abraham opened the scoring for them in the opening minute. Nicolo Zaniolo put them 2-0 up just before the half-hour mark before Bryan Cristante’s own goal pulled one back for Atalanta.
La Dea looked to have equalized in the second half through Duvan Zapata but his goal was ruled out for offside. Instead, Roma extended their lead thanks to Chris Smalling before Abraham scored his second to put the match to bed.
It was probably the most significant victory for Roma under Mourinho and a much-needed one. Gian Piero Gasperini’s side on the other hand, could go down to fourth in the Serie A table if Napoli beat Milan at the San Siro tomorrow.
Starting XIs: Zapata and Zaniolo Back
Gasperini made five changes from Atalanta’s win in Verona with Jose Luis Palomino replacing Merih Demiral at the back. Hans Hateboer was back in the XI, replacing Davide Zappacosta while Remo Freuler started in place of Teun Koopmeiners, who scored last weekend. Up front, Zapata was back and started at the expense of Muriel while Josip Ilicic was included in the lineup ahead of Aleksey Miranchuk.
Mourinho made only two changes to Roma’s XI as Gianluca Mancini and Zaniolo returned from their yellow card suspensions.
Abraham and Zaniolo Give Roma Advantage
Roma could not have asked for a better start as Abraham opened the scoring after only 55 seconds courtesy of a deflection from Hateboer. Berat Djimsiti took a shot at goal from distance but Rui Patricio denied him.
Atalanta continued to find an equalizer with Zapata trying to find the net, only for his shot to be held on to by the Portuguese. Roma doubled their lead after Zaniolo linked up well with Jordan Veretout on the counter and found the net, scoring his first Serie A goal of the season.
Minutes later, Atalanta captain Rafael Toloi had the chance to pull one back but Patricio denied him with a fine save. La Dea made a surprise early change with Muriel coming on for Djimsiti. This move paid off as the Colombian’s shot was deflected in the back of the net by Cristante.
Two English Goals Put the Match Beyond Atalanta’s Reach
Atalanta made their second change of the match during the interval with Ruslan Malinovskyi coming on for Josip Ilicic. The Ukrainian’s motive was clear from the start- try to find the net from his lethal left foot.
He looked to have assisted Atalanta’s equalizer when Zapata headed in from his corner. However, the goal was ruled out for offside following a VAR check. To make matter worse for La Dea, Roma restored their two-goal lead after Smalling headed in from Veretout’s free-kick.
Atalanta tried hard to find the net with Malinovskyi taking shots at goal but to no avail, as were others. Roma added a fourth through Abraham, who netted his second of the match. Veretout’s shot took a deflection
What Next for Atalanta and Roma
La Dea will take a trip to Liguria where they face relegation-threatened Genoa on Tuesday. Roma host Sampdoria on Wednesday.
MATCH SCORECARD
December 18, 2021 – Serie A 2021-2022 Matchday 18
ATALANTA – ROMA: 1-4
SCORERS: 1′ Abraham (R), 27′ Zaniolo (R), 45+1′ Cristante (R, o.g.), 72′ Smalling (R), 82′ Abraham (R)
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ATALANTA (3-4-3): Musso, Toloi, Palomino, Djimsiti (34′ Muriel), Hateboer (78′ Zappacosta), De Roon, Freuler, Pezzella (78′ Maehle), Ilicic (46′ Malinovskyi), Zapata, Pasalic (64′ Miranchuk) (Koopmeiners, Demiral, Rossi, Pessina, Sportiello, Lovato, Piccoli); Coach: Gasperini |
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ROMA (3-5-1-1): Patricio, Ibanez, Smalling, Mancini, Karsdorp, Veretourt (90+1′ Kumbulla), Cristante, Zaniolo (69′ Shomurodov) Vina, Mkhitaryan (89; Calafiori), Abraham (90+1′ Bove) (Villar, Perez, Mayoral, Diawara, Darloe, Zalewski, Boer, Fuzato) Coach: Mourinho |
REFEREE: Mr. Irrati
NOTES: Yellow Cards: De Roon (A), Zaniolo (R), Ibanez (R), Mancini (R) ; Added Time: 1st Half 3′, 2nd Half 3′