Atalanta-Roma 2-1: Sulemana decides in the second half and it's Champions for the Goddess

Bergamo 12 May 2025 – The unbeatable race in the new year of the Roma it ends here, crashing into the Champions League dell 'Atalanta. The Goddess wins 2-1 against the Giallorossi and snatches the pass with a day to spare Champions League for next season. The protagonist's surprise goal Solomon decides it in the second half, after that Lookman e Crystalline had unlocked the scoring in the first half. First defeat in 2025 in Serie A for the Giallorossi, who have much to regret, having missed the opportunity to climb alone to fourth place in the standings. 

First half

Defense reduced to the bare minimum for Gasperini between injuries and suspensions, then space for DeRoon, deployed in the three-man back line with Djimsiti e Kossounou, before Carnesecchi. In the median Ederson acts with Pasalic, while Bellanova e Zappa costa they run on the wings. Forward Retegui is supported by The Ketelaere e Lookman. Ranieri for his part he returns to his 3-4-2-1 with Shomurodov e Soulé lined up behind dovbyk. In the median Koné is paired with Crystalline, while Rensch he is the owner on the right. Confirmed in midfield Angelino on the left. In front of Silker, the three-line is composed of Steel, Mancini e N'Dicka.

The match was highly competitive in the first minutes and there were many one-on-one duels in various areas of the pitch. The Giallorossi tried to attack the game in the first five minutes, but the Bergamo team did not let themselves be crushed and knew how to hurt with their central breakthrough. Crystalline he is the first to warm up the gloves of the opposing goalkeeper: his is the powerful right-footed shot from outside the area, which forces the Bergamo goalkeeper to punch away. The reaction, however, is not long in coming and in the 9th minute he signs the advantage for the Orobic team. The Ketelaere breaks through central routes and serves into the penalty area Lookman. Rensch in marking he comes off and gives the Nigerian time to stop the ball and turn to shoot with his right, beating SilkerThe African's curling right-footed shot in fact found the back of the net, hitting the far post and sealing the 1-0 lead for theAtalantaThe Giallorossi team was hit by surprise.

The game is lively and entertaining, with opportunities alternating on both sides. Ederson he tries immediately after scoring the goal, but fails to hit the target. The same thing happens to Koné a few minutes later, with a nice high recovery and then a right-footed shot, deflected by Pasalic in a corner kick. There is a lot of competitive spirit and this creates space for counterattacks on both sides, in the Bergamo team in particular there is reason to despair for not one, but two gigantic goal opportunities missed towards the middle of the half. First The Ketelaere He kicks badly with his right foot from the heart of the penalty area, with Silker already beaten and puts it out of the goal. Then the Belgian again, in a similar situation: ball from the left, served low into the heart of the area for the Belgian. Differently from the previous occasion, this time the Roma goalkeeper is super to save the result.

La Rona suffers, endures, but remains a very difficult machine to stop and confirms this in the 32nd minute when he finds the equaliser. On the developments of a corner kick, the first Roman assault is repelled. However, the Giallorossi keep the ball alive and from the right find the sharp cross of Soulé for the header, almost with the nape of the neck, of Crystalline, who scored the 1-1 goal. Everything was balanced again at the Gewiss Stadium, with a Roma cynical in getting back on level terms, after having risked conceding a second goal by the Orobic team several times. 

The ending is fun and almost exclusively Roman. The Giallorossi actions pile up: Koné twice he fails to find the winning opportunity, first on the cross of Angelino, then after the magnificent dribbling play of Shomurodov. At the end of the time there is also space for Rensch, but his attempt doesn't even hit the target. The first half ends with the score at 1-1, after 46 entertaining minutes played on an equal footing, with the teams sharing half the time each. 

Second half

The match resumes without changes, with the same twenty-two protagonists of the first half confirmed, for this match that can decide the European future of these two teams. The second half begins along the same lines as the first half. There is a lot of physicality on the pitch and when the pressure lines are overcome, there is always space to get to the edge of the penalty areas of reference. The first shot is beaten by Shomurodov, good at moving in depth and served excellently by the low ball from dovbyk. Stop and shot with the left by the Uzbek: blocks in plastic flight Carnesecchi. The response of the boys of Gasperini is entrusted to Bellanova, but the former Torino player's left-footed attempt was wide of the Giallorossi goal.

La Roma but he insists, also following the long wave of the positive end of the first half. In the 61st minute Koné falls in the area after contact with Pasalic: initially Dirty he awards the penalty to the Giallorossi, but the VAR reviews it because the touch is practically null, which is why the penalty is revoked by the match director. Gasperini he then records the difficult moment of his boys and Gasperini the entrances are played Solomon e Samardzic, to Pasalic e The Ketelaere. The two new arrivals immediately make themselves seen in the economy of the match. The former Cagliari player stops and shoots from the edge: blocked by a super recovery of Rensch in a slide. 

Now they fight for every ball and little by little it is the home team that takes control of the match. Lookman is a very difficult puzzle to solve on the left of the Atalanta offensive front and it is from there that the goal for the new Atalanta lead comes, even if it is not the Nigerian himself who puts his signature on it. In fact, on the initial cross from the Nerazzurri number 11 Samardzic more or less voluntarily supports Solomon, whose shot this time is not blocked by anyone and goes into the bottom left corner of Silker. The man you don't expect scores a goal that smells of Champions for the 'Atalanta: it's 2-1 at the Gewiss Stadium with a quarter of an hour to go. A few moments before the goal, in the Roma he had entered pisilli for Rensch.

Back behind in the score, the Giallorossi are now looking for the goal to tie the game again. For the end of the match, a goal is added Ruggeri in place of Bellanova. Three changes instead for Ranieri with the inputs of Baldanzi, El Shaarawy e Saelemaekers, which they note Shomurodov, Koné e dovbyk. Gasperini responds with the inputs of Maldini e Brescianini for Retegui e Lookman. There is a lot of frenzy in the minutes of injury time. The first yellow card of the match arrives, waved towards Djimsiti. The Roma he makes himself seen on several occasions towards Carnesecchi, but the Bergamo goalkeeper always manages to swat away the dangers far from his goal. The climb of Silker to keep alive the streak of consecutive useful results of the Giallorossi. At the triple whistle in fact the score still smiles on the Goddess. TheAtalanta thus surpasses 2-1 the Roma, inflicts the first defeat of 2025 on the Giallorossi Series A and grab the pass for the next season of Champions LeagueThe Giallorossi are in despair, having been able to crown their comeback, but instead they find themselves once again one point behind Juventus e Lazio.