Atalanta Winning Run Comes to End After Thrilling Draw to Roma

At a rather unusual time in the week for Serie A, Atalanta travelled to Italy’s capital to take on Paulo Fonseca’s Roma at Stadio Olimpico, hoping to climb into second place in the league table.

Despite Atalanta’s utter dominance for the entire 90 minutes, Gasperini’s men could only get a point against Roma in a game that saw two players sent-off.

Atalanta had come into the game on the back of five straight wins, and their positive start to the game was indicative of the good form Gasperini’s side were in ahead of Thursday.

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Here is our starting XI for this evening's game at the Olimpico! ?
#ASRoma #RomaAtalanta pic.twitter.com/JTUUBpdBSm

— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) April 22, 2021

The first dangerous action of the game fell to the feet of Ruslan Malinovskyi. The Ukrainian midfielder was released in the penalty area and, without looking back, took off with a powerful shot to the left side of the goal, but the shot went straight at Pau Lopez.

Roma took a good 15 minutes to find their way into the game after a strong start from the visitors, with Edin Dzeko playing the leading role. The Bosnian striker received a long ball over Atalanta’s back line, managed to outplay Pierluigi Gollini and delivered a cross in for Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The Italian goalkeeper deflected the ball with his fingertips off the Armenian’s head, but Lorenzo Pellegrini reacted well to get to the rebound and eventually take a shot, which was blocked by Berat Djimsiti.

After a dangerous attacking move from Roma, the visitors took no time to respond as they swiftly transitioned from defense to attack. Duvan Zapata got the ball on the left wing, but his shot from the edge of the box missed the target.

Five minutes later, the Colombian was on the end of another great attacking move when the Atalanta striker received a sliding pass from his teammate and, although slightly off balance, was able to unleash a shot to test Pau Lopez ‘s reaction.

Atalanta got going at that moment and broke through again shortly after, this time with Josip Ilicic forcing the Roma goalkeeper into a brilliant save. The Slovenian striker found some space after a pass and took a shot away at the right post, but could not get past the Roma keeper.

After 25 minutes of constant pressure, however, Gasperini’s side did manage to break through. First, Zapata did brilliantly to protect the ball on the edge of the box, which he subsequently laid off for Robin Gosens on the left wing. The German then delivered a superb cross into the box to the onrushing Malinovskyi, who finished off a great team effort with a goal.

Even after taking the lead, the visitors from Bergamo did not stop pushing forward, with Zapata and Remo Freuler both coming close to doubling the lead just before half time.

? Scendiamo in campo così all'Olimpico!
? Here's our line-up to face @OfficialASRoma!
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Presented by @Plus500#RomaAtalanta #SerieATIM #GoAtalantaGo ⚫️? pic.twitter.com/VNmvZDlOwM

— Atalanta B.C. (@Atalanta_BC) April 22, 2021

After a lethargic end to the first half, Roma started the second period with more urgency and increased tempo, trying to take the game deep into the Atalanta half. Pellegrini was the driving force behind the home side’s efforts, as the Italian midfielder tried to play off his teammates with a dangerous pass on a few occasions.

Despite Roma’s good start to the second half, Atalanta were not prepared to just sit back and defend their lead. Gasperini’s side made the game quicker, which immediately led to a dangerous goal-scoring opportunity. Zapata played the ball to Ilicic, who juggled the ball in the box and eventually got it to Gosens, but his shot was deflected.

After an hour mark, the home side were able to reply with a quick interplay between Dzeko and Mkhitaryan. The Armenian received a precise pass on the edge of the box, moved inside and shot just over the bar.

However, five minutes later, Atalanta had a great chance to decide the game and climb to second place in the table, had it not been for Luis Muriel miss. The Colombian striker received a perfect cross from his compatriot Zapata, and the substitute striker had all the time in the world to pick his spot, but he managed to fire the ball past the left post.

Despite Atalanta’s pressure, the game took an unexpected turn when Gosens saw his second yellow card after a foul on Veretout. And it did not take long for the home side to take advantage of the situation. Roma center-back Bryan Cristante was given time and space to get the ball forward and opted for a long-range shot that found its way into the bottom left corner, stunning Gollini.

With less than ten minutes remaining, Dzeko even had a chance to win his team all three points when he received a precise low pass in the box, controlled it but shot straight at the Atalanta goalkeeper.

There was another sending off in the dying seconds of stoppage time when Roger Ibanez saw his second yellow card for a foul on Muriel, but eventually an extraordinary final minutes of the game saw both teams share a point.  

Take a look back at the best 2️⃣0️⃣ photos from #RomaAtalanta ???

➡️ https://t.co/ABFhRWS36K pic.twitter.com/di2slN6XHi

— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) April 22, 2021

 

MATCH REPORT

April 22, 2021 – Serie A 2020-21 Round 32
ROMA-ATALANTA 1-1

SCORERS: 26′ Malinovskyi (A), 75′ Cristante (R)

REFEREE: Mr. Calvarese from Teramo
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Calafiori, Villar (R); Red Cards: Ibanez (R), Gosens (A); Extra Time: 1st Half 1′, 2nd Half 4′