Atalanta continued their superb record against Roma as Duvan Zapata and Marten De Roon goals secured a 2-0 victory at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday.
The Giallorossi haven’t beaten the Bergamo outfit at home since April 2014 and have mustered just one win against them in their last 10 attempts in Serie A.
Paulo Fonseca surprisingly set up his team in a new-look 3-4-2-1 formation, with Aleksandar Kolarov dropping into a centre-back role alongside debutant Chris Smalling and Federico Fazio.
The tactical change meant the two sides cancelled each other out during the first half, with the best chance falling to Edin Dzeko as his finish was superbly saved by Pierluigi Gollini.
Nicolo Zaniolo went on a rampaging run after the break, hurdling Jose Palomino’s last-ditch challenge before rounding the goalkeeper, but he took to long to get his finish away and Rafael Toloi got back to block.
Zapata was left on the bench by Gian Piero Gasperini but didn’t need long to make an impact after his introduction as he blasted a half-volley beyond Pau Lopez within 10 minutes of coming on.
Gollini was again alert to charge down a close-range effort from Nikola Kalinic and Zapata squandered a golden chance to seal it in the closing few minutes when he blasted a finish just wide from 12 yards out.
De Roon made sure of the points in stoppage time when he was left unmarked to head in from a freekick.
Source: forzaitalianfootball.com