It was a bad night for AS Roma and Mourinho in their quest to qualify for the Champions League next season.
AS Roma suffered a massive blow in the Champions League race after they suffered a 3-1 defeat to Atalanta in their Serie A clash at Gewiss Stadium on Monday night.
Roma came into the game on a high after beating Feyenoord 4-1 to book a spot in the semi-final of the Europa League.
The match took a lot of energy out of Roma, which probably influenced Jose Mourinho to make a few changes to his team.
How it happened
The changes did affect Roma a little bit as Atalanta dominated possession in the early stages of the game.
However, Mourinho’s men were able to regain their composure, taking control as the match progressed.
The away side looked assured in possession, playing most of the ball in Atalanta’s half. But despite their possession, Roma failed to fashion out a clear opportunity.
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Their failure to turn their dominance into chances would come back to haunt them, as Atalanta took the lead against the run of play.
La Dea took the lead through Mario Pasalic, who volleyed home from Duvan Zapata’s cross after Tammy Abraham gave the ball away in his half.
Roma tried to find their way back but never really created anything, with Gian Piero Gasperini’s men taking a one-goal lead into the break.
Patricio’s error kills Roma
Roma resumed the second half dominating possession again, but the performance was not different from the first, with Mourinho’s men failing to create clear cut chances.
The Yellow and Reds best effort on goal came from long balls to Tammy Abraham, but the England striker could not connect to any of the long balls.
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With Roma struggling for goals, Mourinho turned to his bench, bringing on Paulo Dybala, Nemanja Matic, Stephan El Shaarawy and Leonardo Spinazzola.
The change gave Roma more urgency in their attacking play, but just as it looked like they would get an equaliser, Atalanta doubled their lead through Rafael Toloi, whose goalbound shot was directed home by Diego Llorente.
The goal took the sting out of Roma’s attack, but they pulled themselves back into the game in the 83rd minute through Pellegrini’s brilliant effort.
However, Roma’s little hope was immediately dashed as Teun Koopmeiners restored Atalanta’s two-goal lead after Patricio failed to deal with a simple ball.
Koopemeiners’ goal ended Roma’s hope of a comeback. The away side’s misery was further compounded after Llorente was forced to leave the pitch while Dybala played the rest of the match with an ankle injury.
Mourinho will now hope the injury is not too serious ahead of another big clash against AC Milan on Saturday.
The result means Roma are now outside the top four on goal difference, but they can regain their spot if they beat the Rossoneri on Saturday.
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