Roma was defeated by Atalanta thanks to an early brace from Charles De Ketelaere, which allowed them to take fifth place with a game in hand.
Mile Svilar made a save in the first two minutes of the game, first on a corner kick that was deflected off Romelu Lukaku, and then on a diving header by Berat Djimsiti that went just wide of the goal.
When De Ketelaere sprinted onto a through ball played by Gianluca Scamacca, cut inside Gianluca Mancini, and curved the right-foot finish into the far bottom corner from 14 yards out, Atalanta was able to break through.
After a few moments, the score was 2-0. Teun Koopmeiners had just finished exchanging passes with Scamacca down the left side of the field, and then he pulled back to allow De Ketelaere to sweep in the ball with the inside of his right foot.
Svilar palmed a header from Hans Hateboer off the line, and De Ketelaere had the opportunity to have a hat-trick by the 36th minute. This time, he shot just wide, then he smashed it into the upright from the tightest of angles.
Koopmeiners’ free kick flew over the wall and crashed against the woodwork right before halftime, causing Atalanta to strike that same post once more. This occurred just before the break.
As De Ketelaere twisted Evan Ndicka to send Mario Pasalic through with a curler that was bent inches wide of the far post, there should have been a third because of the opportunity.
On a back-heel flick from Scamacca, Ederson scuffed a finish into the arms of Svilar, while Edoardo Bove finally got a shot on target for Roma, albeit it was sent directly at Marco Carnesecchi at the 54-minute mark.
Ademola Lookman came off the bench and quickly hammered a shot that was inches wide from the edge of the area. Marten de Roon also drilled a shot from the edge of the area moments later. Svilar had to palm the Mario Pasalic attempt over the bar at the end of a very long passing move.
Despite this, Roma were given a chance to win the game when Tammy Abraham made a combination with Lukaku and was caught by De Roon, possibly after he had already taken the shot, but the referee decided to award a penalty nonetheless. Despite Carnesecchi’s ability to guess the correct angle, Lorenzo Pellegrini was able to be successful.
Pellegrini threatened to equalize the score with a sweeping finish from the edge of the box on the Angelino assist, which Carnesecchi had to parry with difficulty. Suddenly, the players were playing a new game.
There was also a Lukaku angled drive that was set up by Abraham and Stephan El Shaarawy that was buried by the goalkeeper for Atalanta. Ederson also stung Svilar’s gloves at the near post, and then both Koopmeiners and Aleksei Miranchuk hammered just wide from the edge of the box.
The most inefficient use of Atalanta’s resources occurred during stoppages, when Koopmeiners managed to score a goal with only Svilar to beat after being provided with a clear by Lookman.
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