Engulfed by their usual storms of injuries and off-the-pitch drama, Roma welcomed Atalanta to the Stadio Olimpico today for a critical Round 33 fixture. To be fair, nearly every match over the past three months has been critical for the Giallorossi. With no room for error in their desperate chase for a spot in next season’s Champions League, nothing was bound to be easy—and today’s match was no different.
With his club beset by injuries, Gian Piero Gasperini had to dig deep into his pockets to cobble
together a coherent starting lineup. With Lorenzo Pellegrini and Wesley out with injury, and stalwart center-back Gianluca Mancini playing at less than 100%, Gasp gave rare starts to Stephan El Shaarawy, Neil El Aynaoui, and Devyne Rensch.
Making matters worse, Raffaele Palladino’s side, who are in the thick of their own European chase, was nearly at full strength, boasting most of their nominal starters. In the early stages of the match, Roma seemed poised to keep Atalanta in check, or at least draw out the string and set up a tense finish, but Marten de Roon and Nikola Krstovic killed that idea in the 12th minute.
After forcing Roma into a turnover in the build-up, de Roon tore open what remained of Roma’s back line in the blink of an eye, playing Krstovic into the box with a well-timed ball to the edge of the box. After a subtle touch, Krstovic beat Mile Svilar at the far post, erasing any hope of an easy evening at the Olimpico.
Rather than hanging their heads, Roma soldiered on, quickly taking control of the match after Krstovic’s shocking early goal. Down 1-0, Gasperini’s club hit the accelerator, controlling two-thirds of possession, firing eight shots on goal (six on target) and creating three big chances. As impressive as that flex was, Roma was no match for Atalanta keeper Marco Carnesecchi, who made five saves in the first half alone.
Despite racing up and down the pitch, slinging passes from every angle, and keeping Atalanta at bay, the Giallorossi came up empty. Down a goal and with the opposing keeper standing on his head, it felt like Roma was once again doomed to a gut-wrenching loss to a top-six rival.
But Roma would level thanks to an incredibly beautiful goal from an increidbly beautiful man:
After a nice spell of possession that began in the left channel, with nearly every forward player taking a touch, the ball eventually swung to the other side of the pitch toward Zeki Çelik. While Çelik played what looked like a speculative ball to the far post, his high-arching cross fell gently to Rensch, who wisely redirected it into the middle of the box, giving Mario Hermoso a chance to steal the show before the half-time break.
With a combined 16 attempts on goal in the second half, Roma and Atalanta kept up their frenetic pace. As in the first half, it was a tale of near misses and Carnesecchi’s brilliance, which denied Roma a full three points. While few of his second-half stops were jaw-dropping, Carnesecchi made three key interventions midway through the second half, denying an Evan Ndicak header in the 58th minute, a tight-angled shot from Malen in the 63rd, and a Hermoso header off a 67th-minute corner.
Roma continued to pepper Carnesecchi in the final stretch, with Lorenzo Venturino, Hermoso, and Malen each testing the Italian keeper to no avail. Fortunately, Svilar and the Roma defense were equally sharp in the second half, limiting Atalanta to just five attempts on goal.
In the end, Roma’s lack of precision and Carnesecci’s MOTM performance robbed the capital club of two precious points.
Final Thoughts
We’ll have to save the full accounting of today’s draw for Sunday evening, but if Juventus loses to Bologna tomorrow, the race remains wide open because Roma and Como will trail Juve by only two measly points. For now, this result is hard to digest, but the broader struggle—Roma’s pitiful record against Italy’s top clubs—endures.
And until Roma solves that riddle, I’m afraid that every match, big and small, will be a life or death affair for our beloved Giallorossi.
Up Next
Roma travels to Bologna next Saturday.
