Roma’s crisis deepened as they were deservedly beaten 3-2 by Bologna at the Stadio Olimpico on Friday thanks to a superb double from Musa Barrow.
Riccardo Orsolini opened the scoring before a Stefano Denswil own goal levelled the scores, but two superb individual efforts from Barrow either side of the break decided the game despite a late Henrikh Mkhitaryan header.
The Giallorossi have now lost four of their last six games in Serie A, and haven’t won in four successive home league games for the first time since 2015.
There were heartwarming scenes before kick-off as Sinisa Mihajlovic returned to the touchline after being released from hospital following his latest treatment, as he continues his battle with leukaemia.
His team responded with an excellent display as they began on the front foot and took the lead within 16 minutes, when Chris Smalling bizarrely opted to leave a Barrow cross, allowing Orsolini to sweep in a close-range finish.
Roma were soon level when Denswil slid in to intercept a cross but directed it into his own net, but Bologna responded four minutes later as Barrow fired a shot into the top corner from the edge of the area, with the aid of a deflection.
The visitors had chances to make their lead even more comfortable and did just that at the start of the second half when Barrow led a counter-attack, dribbling half the length of the pitch before cutting inside Gianluca Mancini to curl home a neat finish.
Roma mustered a response when Mkhitaryan headed in a cross from substitute Bruno Peres with 20 minutes remaining, but just as the momentum swung in their favour the hosts were reduced to ten men, as Bryan Cristante saw red for a studs up challenge on Orsolini.
Roma remain fifth on 39 points, but Atalanta can move three points ahead of them by beating Fiorentina on Saturday, while Bologna have temporarily risen to sixth in the standings on 33 points.
