Atalanta vs Roma 2-1: La Dea Win Sends Juve and Bologna to UCL!

Football is weird sometimes. Tonight’s Atalanta’s win over Roma at the Gewiss Stadium in Round 36 of Serie A was not enough to qualify La Dea to the Champions League (yet). On the other hand, their success resulted in both Juventus and Bologna automatically gaining access to the top European competition next season.

Atalanta and Roma are still in contention for the last spot available, but tonight’s 2-1 success gave the Nerazzurri a three-point lead over Daniele De Rossi’s side. Atalanta also have one game in hand. Their dominance over Roma was unquestionable, save for a few minutes in the second half when Lorenzo Pellegrini’s penalty halved the gap created by Charles De Ketelaere’s brace. 

With UCL qualification in sight and a ticket to the Europa League Final already booked, Gian Piero Gasperini has much to be happy about as Atalanta prepare to face Juventus in the upcoming Coppa Italia last act. De Rossi’s Roma, on the other hand, are experiencing a dip. They crashed out of the UEL despite a courageous performance in Leverkusen on Thursday. Tonight, they were outclassed for at least 70 minutes. 

De Ketelaere’s One-Man Show in the First Half

Atalanta built a two-goal cushion with a deadly one-two between the 18th and the 20th minute but the gap should have been larger. Roma had simply no answer for the Nerazzurri‘s progressions from the left side. Teun Koopmeiners, Gianluca Scamacca, and De Ketelaere wroke havoc among Daniele De Rossi’s shaky backline but it was the Belgian who absolutely stole the spotlight.

CDK opened the scoring on 18 minutes as he caught a filtering pass from Scamacca, dribbled past Gianuca Mancini and fired the ball at Mile Svilar’s far post. Two minutes later, the Milan loanee had his brace. This time, he slotted the ball home from the center of the box. He was the final terminal of a brilliant combination between Scamacca and Koopmeiners as the Dutchman served him an easy chance for conversion.     

De Ketelaere even came close to make it three as he snatched the ball out of Evan Ndicka’s feet at midfield to ignite a Nerazzurri fast break. This time though, his conclusion narrowly sailed off target. Svilar’s right post pushed back the Belgian’s upteenth scoring attempt, then the Roma goalie somehow managed to defuse a tricky Hans Hateboer header.

Before the half time break, Koopmeiners hit the post with a terrific strike from a free kick and Mario Pasalic missed the target by just a few inches from another brilliant De Ketelaere suggestion. Roma were powerless and totally failed to ignite their lone striker Romelu Lukaku upfront. Their only chance came from an Angelino cutting cross which Stephan El Shaarawy failed to turn into anything dangerous.     

Pellegrini Deludes Roma from the Spot

Daniele De Rossi tried to rebalance the game as he sent in Edoardo Bove and Tammy Abraham, placing the Englishman next to Lukaku on the front line. It was a move that produced results only later in the game as initially the trend didn’t change. 

Gian Piero Gasperini’s first changes seemed more effective as Ademola Lookman and El Bilal Touré were both hungry for playing time and their introduction helped Atalanta continue to be in control of the operations. On 59 minutes, an exchange between the two African players resulted in Lookman coming close to scoring his side’s third goal. Just one minute later, it was Marten De Roon’s time to go for Roma’s throat. He also narrowly missed the target. 

After Svilar scrambled to palm away Pasalic’s conclusion from an El Bilal suggestion, Lukaku and Abraham finally managed to combine in the box. It was a sudden turning point in the game as while the Englishman was firing the ball off target, De Roon came with a late sliding tackle that knocked him down in the box. According to referee Marco Guida, it was a penalty. 

Roma captain’s Lorenzo Pellegrini’s conversion from the spot was flawless. He slotted the ball out of Marco Carnesecchi’s reach with a clinical strike to give the Giallorossi a new hope.  

Atalanta Defend Slim Lead, Make Juve and Bologna Happy

Roma’s unexpected goal risked turning the tables. Atalanta had been devastating so far but for a few minutes risked losing their plot. Pellegrini came close to bagging a brace but Carnesecchi’s quick reflexes took care of his tricky shot from an Angelino pass. On 82 minutes, Lukaku was picked on the edge of the box but squandered a good chance, shooting right at where the Nerazzurri goalie was placed. 

Little by little, Gasperini’s side regained their composure. In the dying minutes of the game, the Orobici were again on the attacking end. Koopmeiners wasted a colossal chance during added time as he sent the ball crashing into the stands of the Gewiss Stadium with the whole unguarded goal right in front of him. 

At full time, Bologna and Juventus were the happiest of all. Thiago Motta’s Rossoblu saw their unprecedented qualification to UCL certified while the Bianconeri could also celebrate their return to the European grand ball after one year. The battle between Atalanta and Roma for the last UCL spot will continue at a distance in the final two Serie A rounds.  

MATCH SCORECARD

May 12, 2024 – Serie A 2023/2024 Round 36
ATALANTA – ROMA 2-1

SCORERS: 18′ De Ketelaere (A), 20′ De Ketelaere (A), 65′ Pellegrini (R, pen.)

REFEREE: Mr. Guida from Pompei
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Koopmeiners, Gasperini (A), Ndicka (R); Added Time: 1st Half 1′, 2nd Half 4′

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