Roma maintained their title challenge with a 3-1 victory over Atalanta in Serie A action on Saturday night.
Goals from Rodrigo Taddei, Adem Ljajic and Gervinho earned Roma all three points while Giulio Migliaccio’s late strike got Atalanta on the score sheet.
Roma welcomed back captain Francesco Totti for the game as he replaced the suspended Mattia Destro.
Gervinho was denied twice in the early stages by Atalanta goalkeeper Andrea Consigli as Roma made a bright start.
The Giallorossi made their pressure count as Taddei gave them the lead in the 12th minute. Dodo managed to hook the ball back from the byline, which evaded the Atalanta defence before reaching Taddei who found the net from just outside the area via a deflection.
Roma continued to dominate possession without creating too many chances while Atalanta had Luca Cigarini cautioned for a late challenge on Dodo in the 31st minute.
Just before half time Roma doubled their advantage with a well worked counter attack finished off by Ljajic. The ball broke to Totti on the edge of the box, whose delicate chip was met by Daniele De Rossi and the Italian picked out the Serbian forward as he calmly finished from eight yards out.
After the break German Denis produced some fine trickery in the box and looked certain to score only to be denied by a fine block from De Rossi.
Another well worked move by Roma was finished off in style by Gervinho in the 62nd minute. A delightful ball by Ljaijc on the edge of the box found Gervinho in space and the striker beat Consigli with a powerful strike.
Ljajic almost extended Roma’s lead in the 71st minute but his shot from the edge of the box hit the post and was cleared by the Atalanta defence.
Dodo’s cross in the 74th minute found Gervinho but the Ivory Coast international managed to miss from inside the six yard box.
Atalanta pulled a goal back in the 78th minute as Migliaccio scored his first goal of the season with a superb header that beat Morgan De Sanctis in the Roma goal.
The victory is Roma’s seventh in a row in Serie A and leaves them five points behind top of the table Juventus who play on Monday night. Atalanta remain in 8th place on 46 points.
Follow Richard Hinman on Twitter: @RichardHinman
