Although their title hopes had faded, there was still plenty up for grabs for a La Dea side who were keen to come out of the blocks quickly.
They were able to do just that as, with only nine minutes on the clock, Charles De Ketelaere’s pass into the area found Ademola Lookman, who switched onto his right foot before firing into the right corner to make it 1-0.
Having set up the opening goal, De Ketelaere had a chance to double Atalanta’s advantage 10 minutes later when Ederson’s pull-back pass from the byline found the Belgian, but he couldn’t direct his close-range effort on target as it dribbled wide of the right post.
De Ketelaere saw a second chance to score saved by Mile Svilar, and his wastefulness was punished just after the half hour when Matias Soule’s free-kick into the area was glanced into the net by Bryan Cristante to ensure Roma have now netted in 21 successive matches across all competitions.
Having got themselves back into the contest, Roma were keen to press on, and they could have gone ahead 10 minutes after the restart when Eldor Shomurodov advanced to the edge of the area and released a shot which was tame enough to be caught by the diving Marco Carnesecchi.
Shortly after the hour mark, Claudio Ranieri’s men thought they had been awarded a penalty when Mario Pasalic was adjudged to have fouled Manu Kone, however, after being sent to the pitchside monitor the referee overturned his decision and the game remained level.
With goalmouth action not in great supply, a third and potentially decisive goal seemed unlikely. However, with just under a quarter of an hour remaining, Atalanta secured the victory as Lookman’s cross into the area was half cleared, with the ball falling to Ibrahim Sulemana who sent his powerful first-time effort flying into the bottom right-hand corner to spark scenes of jubilation inside the Gewiss Stadium.
Those fans can now look forward to another Champions League campaign, with their team no longer able to be caught in third place, while a dejected Roma must pick themselves up as they remain sixth but only a point away from the fourth and final spot in Europe’s top-flight competition with two games remaining.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Ademola Lookman (Atalanta)
