Roma may have secured progression to the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia last time out as they kicked off the year with a 2-1 victory over Cremonese, but it was far from pretty - Jose Mourinho’s men needed two late goals to come from behind against the Serie B outfit.
They ended 2023 with a 1-0 defeat to Juventus too, meaning the Portuguese boss will have been looking for a statement from his side upon the visit of Atalanta.
However, the visitors started the better of the two sides and were in front within the first 10 minutes as Teun Koopmeiners out-jumped Rick Karsdorp at the back post to head Aleksei Miranchuk’s cross beyond Rui Patricio.
The first period was full of chances for both sides - Romelu Lukaku saw a shot saved by Marco Carnesecchi midway through the half and Paulo Dybala fluffed his lines with the goal at his mercy following Lorenzo Pellegrini’s low cross shortly after the half-hour mark, while Patricio produced a crucial stop to keep out Charles de Ketelaere as he bore down on goal at the other end.
Ultimately though, the game’s next goal came from the penalty spot. Karsdorp appeared to have wasted the opportunity to haul his side back onto level terms when Berat Djimsiti cleared his toe-poke off the line, but he was caught on the thigh by Matteo Ruggeri after getting his shot away.
Referee Gianluca Aureliano subsequently pointed to the spot after a trip to the pitchside monitor, and from 12 yards, Dybala buried into the corner.
In contrast to the high intensity of the opening 45 minutes, the match progressed at a slower pace after the interval.
Carnesecchi needed to be alert to deny debuting substitute Dean Huijsen from close range, while La Dea’s Ederson fired narrowly over the bar after some clever dribbling, but neither outfit were able to put their opponents under any real pressure.
Although Atalanta did have the ball in the back of the net around the hour mark, Gianluca Scamacca’s header was ruled out as he clearly fouled Bryan Cristante in the build-up.
Lukaku was involved in the latter stages, but his two wayward efforts were never troubling Carnesecchi between the sticks, with Mourinho’s late red card the clash’s final talking point.
In the end, neither XI looked like snatching all three points, and a sharing of the spoils was a fair outcome.
The result sees sixth-placed Atalanta stay one point and two positions ahead of Roma in the league table, with the two teams three and four points adrift of the UEFA Champions League qualification spots respectively.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma)
