Roma saw off Atalanta 2-1 at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday evening in the third round of Serie A. Éderson opened the scoring in the forty-seventh minute before Mario Hermoso doubled the lead late on, though Matias Soule pulled one back for the visitors in stoppage time. Gianluca Gaetano was then sent off at the death, leaving Atalanta to play the final moments with ten men. It was a result that kept Roma top of the table with nine points from three games.
And here's the thing — the match was decided in moments rather than sustained pressure. Roma enjoyed 66 per cent possession and created 2.97 expected goals, yet Atalanta's goalkeeper made nine saves to keep the score respectable. The visitors managed only two shots on target all evening, while Roma fired ten at goal. By then it felt like a routine victory, until Soule's goal changed everything.
The turning point came after Hermoso's eighty-ninth-minute strike. Atalanta pushed for an equaliser with renewed urgency, and Soule found the net in the ninety-third minute. But three minutes later Gaetano was shown a second yellow card, and the game was effectively over. The away side had nothing to do for the final exchanges.
There were substitutions throughout, with both managers reshuffling the pack. Roma brought on Donyell Malen, Elif Elmas and Evan Ndicka, while Atalanta introduced Lazar Samardzic and Sead Kolašinac. The managers also picked up yellow cards — Maurizio Sarri in the fifty-fifth minute and Raoul Bellanova at eighty-four. To be fair, Atalanta's approach was disciplined despite the lack of creative output.
We had called for a Roma victory beforehand, with 46 per cent confidence, and the prediction held. The hosts dominated territory and chances, though Atalanta's goalkeeper kept them in the contest until the final quarter of an hour. The result leaves Roma three points clear at the summit, with Atalanta sitting seventh on six points.
