Roma added to their three-game winning streak with a hard-fought 2–1 away win against Atalanta on Saturday’s Serie A action.
Atalanta took an unexpected and early lead when Cristian Raimondi beat Ashley Cole down the line and found Maximiliano Morales in the box. The Atalanta forward made no mistake and blasted the ball in and off the crossbar.
Rudi Garcia’s men would have their say on 23 minutes however. Adem Ljajic sprinted down the wing and danced his way across the box before curling in a right-footed shot to equalize. It was again Llajic who would be the protagonist of the second goal, squaring for Radja Nainggolan at the top of the box. The Belgian fired in to give Roma the 2–1 lead on 41 minutes, which eventually turned out to be the winner.
Here are the player ratings from the match. Leave us a comment and let us know what you think.
Atalanta
Marco Sportiello – 5 – Average
The Atalanta goalkeeper put in a decent display and despite conceding twice, he could not be held accountable for either.
Gianpaolo Bellini – 4 – Culpable
Both goals come down the right-back’s side when Adem Ljajic skipped by him on the first instance and took advantage of the space he had vacated when the Serbian set up Roma’s second goal.
Guglielmo Stendardo – 5 – Solid
The defender put in a good display and marshaled his defence well enough on the day.
Nicolo Cherubin – 5 – Battler
The centre-back put in a brave display and got stuck in well, without being altogether spectacular.
Boukary Drame – 6 – Positive
The left-back was always willing to go forward and defended well when he had to recover or stay behind to help out his team.
Alejandro Gomez – 5 – Disappointing
The midfielder did a lot of running down his flank but most of it was defensive. He never had much of an offensive impact but supported his full-back well enough. Substituted on 75 minutes.
Daniele Baselli – 6 – Generous
The midfielder gave it everything he had. He mostly worked defensively but almost had his moment of glory early in the game, his shot crashing against the crossbar and denying Atalanta a 2–0 lead. Substituted on 69 minutes.
Carlos Carmona – 5 – Reliable
The midfielder did a lot of running and even more tackling. He made himself very useful in his team’s endeavors to win the ball back.
Cristian Raimondi – 7 – Lively
The midfielder put himself about well and caused all matters of trouble whenever he went forward. He gave Ashley Cole a particularly torrid time, beating him in a one-on-one to set up Atalanta’s opening goal.
Maximiliano Moralez – 8 – Engine
The forward was all over the place, pressing hard to close down spaces. His hard work throughout justified a good performance that saw him smash in the opening goal for Atalanta in the first minute of the game.
German Denis – 4 – Bully
The striker got himself about and led the line well enough. He seemed to waste more energy using his physicality to throw himself about however, leading to a more dispersed display where he did not make the best of his more useful poaching instincts. Substituted on 75 minutes.
Substitutes
Alberto Grassi – 5 – Average
Replaced Daniele Baselli on 69 minutes. The midfielder did his best running around and trying to win the ball back but chased shadows mostly.
Rolando Bianchi – 4 – Invisible
Replaced German Denis on 75 minutes. The striker failed to have much of an impact and barely saw the ball.
Richmond Boakye – 3 – Brainless
Replaced Alejandro Gomez on 75 minutes. Not only did he not have much of an impact when coming onto the pitch but got himself sent off after receiving a second yellow for dissent.
Roma
Morgan De Sanctis – 5 – Hesitant
The Roma goalkeeper seemed nervous when coming off his line at times. The new defensive pairing in front of him seemed to throw his decision-making off.
Ashley Cole – 3 – Nightmare
The Roma full-back did not have his most memorable of games. The left-back was culpable for the first Atalanta goal, allowing himself to be too easily beaten and muscled off the ball.
Davide Astori – 5 – Nervous
The Roma centre-back struggled to get into his game and seemed rushed in most of his interventions. He struggled to settle into the game early on, causing all sorts of confusion in the back line.
Kostas Manolas – 5 – Flustered
The Greek did not put in one of his usually assured displays. With a new defensive partner, he didn’t take the leadership inside the area and looked hesitant at times.
Vasileios Torosidis – 4 – Never-in-it
The Roma full-back never really seemed to have gotten in the game. Substituted on 48 minutes for what seemed like an injury.
Daniele De Rossi – 4 – Wasteful
It wasn’t the best of games for the Roma stalwart. The Roma captain was wasteful in possession at times and making poor decisions in his own half. He failed to really get into the game and up to the level of his midfield partner Radja Nainggolan.
Radja Nainggolan – 8 – Workhorse
The Belgian put in another one of his all-around display. Worked well to win the ball back, helped out offensively, and saw his hard work rewarded when he grabbed the winner for Roma.
Miralem Pjanic – 7 – Tidy
Still slightly below par in terms of the Bosnian’s usual standards but he did well enough in possession and in trying to get his team going forward. Besides his assist on Adem Ljajic’s equalizer however, there won’t be anything much more positive to get out of this game.
Adem Ljajic – 9 – Man of the Match
The Serbian made the most of a rare start, equalizing for Roma as well as setting up Radja Nainggolan’s goal to gave his team the win. His direct running and quick dribbling proved to be Roma’s most potent weapon on the break. Substituted on 82 minutes.
Juan Iturbe – 7 – Lively
Although he only played for an hour, the Roma forward did very well with his movement off the ball. He worked the channels well and created useful openings whenever he could, as well as helping out defensively. Substituted on 58 minutes.
Mattia Destro – 4 – Poor
The Roma striker did not make the best of this chance against Atalanta. He struggled to find the right spaces and constantly lost the ball, failing to execute technically and making poor decisions all too often.
Substitutes
Michele Somma – 5 – Dilettante
Replaced Vasileios Torosidis on 48 minutes after the Greek seemed to suffer an injury (hamstring). He looked nervous and his lack of experience showed at some moments.
Alessandro Florenzi – 6 – Up-for-it
Replaced Juan Iturbe on 58 minutes. He looked lively and probed well to help his team-mates take a more convincing lead.
Seydou Keita – 5 – Average
Replaced Adem Ljajic on 82 minutes. The Malian was tidy in midfield and helped shore things up to see the game out.
