Atalanta never stops. The Bergamo team also beats Rome and flies to second place alone, obviously with one game more than Inter and Fiorentina, officially launching the challenge to Napoli for the scudetto. Gasperini does not want to pronounce himself yet, but hiding no longer makes sense: the Goddess has all the cards to play for the title, even if the final test will come Friday against Milan, in a race that promises to be a spectacle from all points of view. For Roma, however, it's a dark night, as demonstrated by a ranking that sees them in fifteenth place, just two points behind third-last Como and the threat of relegation that is starting to scare the Giallorossi fans.
Roma – Atalanta 0-2: De Roon and Zaniolo make the Goddess fly, Ranieri sinks
The match promised to be a real battle, but in reality it slipped to the brink ofbalance until halfway through the second half, when Atalanta broke the deadlock thanks to a De Roon's shot deflected by Celik. The compact Roma designed by Ranieri (3-5-2 with Koné, Paredes and Cristante in midfield, El Shaarawy and Pellegrini on the bench), in fact, had held the field well, managing to defuse the Nerazzurri's potential, in particular the offensive trident composed of De Ketelaere, Retegui and Lookman. The idea was to lower the Giallorossi defenders, but Ranieri had also understood it, determined to exploit the post-Tottenham spark to battle against the Goddess.
The match was heading towards a draw, after which De Roon took over, good and lucky in finding Celik's deflection for Atalanta's 1-0. Roma dived headlong into the Nerazzurri area, in an attempt to restart a very complicated match, but the only real chance was Mancini, who wasn't very cool in turning an easy ball into a goal a few meters from the goal. The rest of the ranking, however, is a waste of time, given that Atalanta has legitimized the victory with the goal by Zaniolo, booed by the Olimpico and revealed to be decisive just moments from the end (89'). In between, many duels won, but also the feeling of an Atalanta in control of the scene and ready to growl regardless of choices and opponents, against a Roma that is too academic, to whom the calendar seems to smile
Gasperini suspended, vice Gritti speaks: "Scudetto? The fans must dream"
"It is the victory of awareness, we have reached some really important peaks – highlighted Gritti, who appeared in the press room in place of the suspended Gasperini -. We have suffered, Roma is not a team that can get 13 points in the standings, but we are very strong because we hold out in difficult moments and then we go and do damage. Scudetto? The fans must dream, we are in an incredible position, which we deservedly earned on the pitch, we will see where we will be two thirds of the way through the championship. Is this the strongest Atalanta? You ask us cyclically, but this is certainly one of the strongest”.
Ranieri: “If the team continues to follow me we will find the solution to the problem”
“As long as we had the strength we countered blow for blow, unfortunately we played on Thursday night and we came back at 5 in the morning, even if I don't want to look for excuses - Ranieri's bitter comment -. Furthermore I no longer had box to box midfield changes, but I still have to do the congratulations to the boys. We had a great chance at the beginning of the first half with Dovbyk and a chance after the 0-1 with Mancini, they are all episodes that decided the match. We must know that Atalanta is a team ready to fight for the Scudetto, it will be a good championship, because up there there are really tough teams. Now we will play every four days for the whole of December and there will be no easy matches, if the team continues to follow me as it has done so far we will find the clue to the problemWe must not give up in the face of adversity, we must know how to react and fight for every ball until we are exhausted”.
