Roma beaten: it's third place and Champion5 League football once again!
Atalanta seal their fifth UCL spot in seven seasons
A brilliant second-half goal from Sulemana sees Atalanta edge past Roma 2–1, clinching qualification for the next UEFA Champions League and securing third place in the league with two games to spare. The Nerazzurri have thus earned a spot in Europe’s elite competition for the fifth time. After Lookman opened the scoring, it was the Ghanaian midfielder who delivered the decisive blow, as the 2024/25 Serie A Enilive MD36 saw the Gewiss Stadium erupt in celebration on yet another unforgettable night in Bergamo.
Off to a boisterous onset, the game saw both sides trade blows early on: while De Ketelaere went inches away from scoring but couldn't find the winning finish a wink after kick-off, Cristante tried his luck with a powerball 8 minutes in, only to be beaten away by a well-alert Carnesecchi. It was Atalanta who then drew first blood with Lookman, breaking the deadlock 60 seconds later by tucking De Ketelaere's pass into the far bottom corner. The Nerazzurri doubled down their efforts in pursuit of another goal: after Éderson finished high on 11 minutes and De Ketelaere failed to either find the net nor fuel Retegui's finish in the 20th, in the 24th the Nerazzurri got back at it with the CDK-Retegui duo trying their luck once again with the former being met by Svilar's block before the latter couldn't deliver the follow-up blow on the rebound. On 31 minutes, the visitors drew level from a corner kick situation with Cristante. Despite Roma threatening again right before halftime, both Giallorossi attempts got snuffed out by a well-alert Atalanta rearguard.
As the second half set in, the Nerazzurri surged forward for a most sought-after tie-breaker as Sulemana, Djimsiti and Lookman each tried their luck, but without success. Fourth time was the charm for Atalanta, who gained the upper hand courtesy of just subbed-in Sulemana: upon gathering the ball, the Ghanian vanquished Svilar with a first-touch banger in the 76th minute. A goal worth its weight in gold for Sulemana, who punched Atalanta's ticket to the next Champions League with his first in Nerazzurri colours!
ATALANTA 2-1 ROMA
Scorers: Lookman 9 (A), Cristante 31 (R), Sulemana 76 (A).
Atalanta: Carnesecchi, De Roon, Djimsiti, Kossounou, Bellanova (Ruggeri 83), Pašalić (Sulemana 68), Éderson, Zappacosta, De Ketelaere (Samardžić 68), Retegui (Maldini 88), Lookman (Brescianini 88). Unused bench: Rui Patrício, Rossi, Comi, Riccio, Bernasconi, Obrić, Idele. Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini.
Roma: Svilar, Celik, Mancini, N'Dicka, Rensch (Pisilli 76), Cristante, Koné (El Shaarawy 86), Angelino, Soulé, Dovbyk (Saelemaekers 86), Shomurodov (Baldanzi 86). Unused bench: De Marzi, Marcaccini, Abdulhamid, Hummels, Paredes, Dybala, Nelsson, Gourna-Douath, Salah-Eddine. Coach: Claudio Ranieri.
Referee: Simone Sozza from Seregno;
Assistant referees: Daniele Bindoni from Venezia and Davide Imperiale from Genova;
Fourth official: Giuseppe Collu from Cagliari;
V.A.R.: Rosario Abisso from Palermo;
A.V.A.R.: Francesco Meraviglia from Pistoia.
Notes: Djimisiti (A) booked.