Goals from Mario Pašalić, Rafael Tolói and Teun Koopmeiners ensured Atalanta completed a Serie A double over Roma in a 3-1 victory, whilst also blowing the race for European football wide open with seven matches remaining.In seven of the last 13 head-to-head meetings in Serie A the away team has led one nil at halftime, however for an extended period of the first half the entirety of the Gewiss Stadium was begging for an attempt on target, let alone a goal. There was a not-so-grand total of zero in the opening 30 minutes, with the only action of note not even occurring on the pitch. After Éderson was deemed to have left a trailing arm in Tammy Abraham’s face, his manager, Gian Piero Gasperini, was shown a yellow card for fierce protestations in his technical area.FT: Atalanta 3-1 RomaJose Mourinho’s side drop out of the top four on goal difference, while the hosts close the gap on the European places… 👀 pic.twitter.com/ZufBanuSNK— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 24, 2023 Eventually, the first shot on target arrived in the 39th minute, and with it came an excellently-worked opener for La Dea. Duván Zapata held off Bryan Cristante on the edge of the box before turning and getting a low cross away into the six-yard box. The cross was met by Pašalić – restored to the starting line-up after missing the last match – who volleyed sweetly into the top left corner before Rui Patrício could even comprehend what was happening.
This was a massive goal in the race for European qualification, as the hosts inched to within two points off the top six and more importantly four points off their opponents in fourth. It was also the first time Roma have conceded in four matches, putting Jose Mourinho in the recently unfamiliar position of having to inspire a fightback. He sought to do so with a quadruple substitution, which included the dangerous Paulo Dybala, but before the Argentine could make an impact, Rafael Tolói had bundled in a rebound from a corner to double Atalanta’s lead.
Lorenzo Pellegrini pulled one back with seven minutes remaining, latching onto an expertly-placed backheel from Andrea Belotti before firing into the bottom right corner from 18 yards, but before the Giallorossi could mount a second charge, a mistake by Patrício killed off any chance of shared points in Bergamo. The goalkeeper fumbled the ball in the penalty area, allowing Teun Koopmeiners to steal in and fire into an empty net, rounding off a calamitous night for his side. With four points now the difference between fourth and seventh in Italy, it is game on in the race for continental football.
After three straight wins, the Special One had to congratulate his opponent from the opposite dugout, having nothing to celebrate after his 100th match at Roma’s helm.SERIE A – ROUND 31FridayVerona – Bologna 2-1 (1-0)/Verdi 45+6 pen, 62 – Dominguez 90+4/SaturdaySalernitana – Sassuolo 2-0 (1-0)/Pirola 9, Dia 20/Lazio – Torino 0-1 (0-1)/Ilic 43/Sampdoria – Spezia 1-1 (1-0)/Amione 23 – Verde 59/SundayEmpoli – Inter 0-3 (0-0)/Lukaku 48, 76, Lautaro 88/Monza – Fiorentina 3-2 (2-2)/Biraghi 26(og), Motta 43, Pessina 59 – Koumate 8, Saponara 13/Udinese – Cremonese 3-0 (3-0)/Samardzic 2, Perez 27, Success 36/Milan – Lecce 2-0 (1-0)/Leao 40, 74/Juventus – Napoli 0-1 (0-0)/Raspadori 90+3/MondayAtalanta – Roma 3-1 (1-0)/Pasalic 39, Toloi 74, Koopmeiners 84 – Pellegrini 83/