Thanks to goals from Pašalić, Toloi and Koopmeiners, Atalanta clinched a huge 3-1 victory over Roma at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo in the 31st round of the 2022/23 Serie A TIM.
Despite a hard-fought start to the match, neither team managed to sting the opposing goalkeepers’ gloves. A great play was needed to break the deadlock: Scalvini caught Abraham in possession, and then Zapata stood up a cross from the left to set up Pašalić, who scored the opener in the 39th minute with a wonderful volley.
An Abraham header that was easy for Sportiello broke the ice in the second half, and minutes later, de Roon’s effort from the edge of the box also led to nothing, as the midfielder blasted it high on 55 minutes. After a Pašalić finish over the bar in the 69th minute, Palomino’s header off the bench was beaten away by Rui Patricio but captain Toloi was there to steer the rebound in, doubling Atalanta’s lead in the 74th minute. Roma pulled one back on 83 minutes through Pellegrini, but after only one minute, Gasperini’s men restored their two-goal lead through Koopmeiners, who pounced on a Rui Patricio error and made it 3-1. Roma tried to react through Pellegrini, but his free kick bounced off the post. That being the final chance of the match, Atalanta claimed a 3-1 victory over the Giallorossi at the Gewiss Stadium.
The team will now enjoy a day off; training will resume on Wednesday afternoon with a behind-closed-doors session at the Centro Bortolotti in Zingonia.
ATALANTA 3-1 ROMA
Scorers: Pašalić 39 (A), Toloi 74 (A), Pellegrini 83 (R), Koopmeiners 84 (A).
Atalanta: Sportiello, Toloi, Djimsiti (Palomino ), Scalvini, Mæhle (Demiral 82), de Roon, Éderson (Soppy 96), Zappacosta, Koopmeiners, Pašalić (Højlund 82), Zapata (Muriel 96). Bench: Musso, Rossi, Boga, Bernasconi, Mendicino. Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini.
Roma: Rui Patricio, Mancini (El Shaarawy 64), Ibanez, Llorente, Celik, Bove (Spinazzola 64), Cristante, Zalewski (Dybala 64), Solbakken (Matic 64), Pellegrini, Abraham (Belotti 81). Bench: Boer, Svilar, Camara, Kumbulla, Volpato, Tahirovic. Coach: Josè Mourinho.
Referee: Massimiliano Irrati from Pistoia.
Assistant referees: Daniele Bindoni from Venice and Mauro Galetto from Rovigo.
Fourth official: Manuel Volpi from Arezzo.
V.A.R.: Rosario Abisso from Palermo.
A.V.A.R.: Gianluca Aureliano from Bologna.
Notes: Gasperini (A), de Roon (A), Solbakken (R), Palomino (A) and Koopmeiners (A) booked.
