Atalanta stayed hot on the heels of Serie A leaders Napoli on Monday by winning 2-0 at struggling Roma. By defeating struggling Roma 2-0 on Monday—their first home game since Claudio Ranieri returned as coach of his childhood club—Atalanta maintained their advantage over Serie A leaders Napoli. Marten De Roon’s spectacularly deflected goal in the 69th minute and former Roma forward Nicolo Zaniolo’s late header earned the Bergamo club their eighth consecutive victory across all competitions, putting Gian Piero Gasperini’s team one point behind Napoli.
After the flawless start to a challenging mini-run of games with AC Milan and Real Madrid visiting in the next few days, they are also out on their own in second position, three points clear of champions Inter Milan, Fiorentina, and Lazio.
With every week that goes by, Atalanta, who created history by winning the Europa League the previous season, become more credible as Scudetto contenders.
Atalanta, a historically modest team that has never won an Italian championship, leads the league in goals scored, has Mateo Retegui as their top goal scorer, and is currently winning eight straight games in Serie A.
Goal scorer De Roon told Sky, “Great stuff today, it wasn’t easy, in fact it was very difficult and even.”
“Winning here is always fantastic, but let’s stay grounded and enjoy each match as it comes. But we have a lot of faith after this run of victories.
Roma, on the other hand, sit two points above the relegation zone in 15th place following their sixth loss in seven league games. Despite Ranieri’s team’s excellent training, his men produced little other than early potshots from Manu Kone and Leandro Paredes.
Atalanta ‘ready’
In the second half, with the game still goalless, Artem Dovbyk and Gianluca Mancini also missed solid chances to make appropriate contact.
“We went at it with them as long as we had the energy to do so,” Ranieri remarked.
Roma’s players donned T-shirts with the words “Forza Edo” in honor of Edoardo Bove, who passed out while playing for Fiorentina against Inter, while fans greeted Ranieri’s return to the Stadio Olimpico with banners and chanting.
Bove, a product of the Roma academy who has been on loan from Roma to Fiorentina since August, is awake at Florence’s Careggi hospital, and doctors are testing him to find out why he collapsed with 16 minutes remaining in Sunday’s game, which the referees canceled and will complete later in the season.
The 22-year-old played for the Roma club under Jose Mourinho, which advanced to the Europa League final the following season and won the first Europa Conference League in 2022.
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