Roma complete stunning late comeback to sink Atalanta and return top of Serie A

Roma ended a 9-match winless run against Atalanta and gave their manager his first victory over his former club, while Atalanta suffered their first away defeat of the season.

Match highlight

Roma started strongly. They were chasing a third straight 4-0 win and a seventh consecutive league victory, and they quickly put Atalanta under pressure. Rodrigo Mora crossed from the left for Gianluca Mancini, whose powerful free header was well saved by Marco Carnesecchi.

Wesley Franca delivered another cross, this time for Bryan Cristante, but Carnesecchi again got down to keep out a header aimed at the bottom corner. Evan Ndicka then had the ball in the net from the resulting corner, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.

Roma remained in control, although Atalanta limited them to a couple more efforts from Mora before the half-hour mark.

Gianluca Scamacca finally tested Mile Svilar at one end, but Roma responded with Paulo Dybala’s header, which did not seriously trouble Carnesecchi. The Atalanta keeper made another vital save 5 minutes before the break after Wesley combined with Donyell Malen, who cut inside and fired a low effort toward goal.

Just 90 seconds into the second half, Atalanta took the lead. Charles De Ketelaere beat his man brilliantly down the left and, although his cutback did not initially find a team-mate, the loose ball fell perfectly for Ederson. The midfielder smashed a powerful effort past Svilar and into the net.

A rehearsed corner routine almost brought an equaliser, but Manu Kone was denied by Carnesecchi. The home substitutes added fresh energy, and Roma kept coming. Matias Soule saw a volley gathered, while Santiago Castro beat the goalkeeper only to see his effort hit the post.

As the final 20 minutes began, Soule was denied again by Carnesecchi from a header, and Roma looked as though they were running out of ideas.

With 2 minutes left, Castro headed against the post for a second time. Carnesecchi then made a brilliant double save to deny Dybala and Wesley, somehow keeping Atalanta in front.

Finally, in the 90th minute, the resistance broke. Mario Hermoso met Soule’s corner with a looping header that sailed over the goalkeeper and into the net to bring Roma level.

Roma immediately threw everything forward for a winner. They found it in the third minute of stoppage time. Dybala fed Soule on the right side of the area, and the Argentine’s fierce shot beat Carnesecchi at his near post to complete an extraordinary turnaround.

Roma had dominated much of the night, but it took until the final minutes for them to make that pressure count. In the end, though, their persistence delivered another major statement in the title race.