Roma stuns Atalanta after Abraham double
Tammmy Abraham was the star on Sunday (AEDT), scoring twice as Roma ran out a 4-1 winner at in-form Atalanta, the biggest win for coach Jose Mourinho since his return to Serie A.
The England striker opened the scoring with less than a minute on the clock at Gewiss Stadium and scored Roma's fourth late on as Roma closed the gap between itself and the UEFA Champions League places to five points.
Nicolo Zaniolo and Abraham's countryman, Chris Smalling, also netted in an impressive win, Roma's first against one of Italy's top teams this season, which took it to fifth on the table and dented third-place Atalanta's burgeoning title hopes.
Gian Piero Gasperini's side sits third, six points behind champion and league leader Inter Milan, which crushed Salernitana 5-0 on Saturday (AEDT), and will drop to fourth if Napoli beats AC Milan on Monday (AEDT).
Roma took the lead in an odd fashion when after charging into the box Abraham poked forward a close-range finish which looped high off Marten de Roon and into the net.
Roma then struck on the break through Zaniolo to double the lead against the run of play in the 27th minute.
Atalanta continued to push and got back into the game in first-half stoppage-time when substitute Luis Muriel's low drive took a deflection off Cristante and left Roma goalkeeper Rui Patricio with no chance.
The home fans thought they were set to witness a grandstand finish in the 68th minute when Jose Luis Palomino touched the ball home from Duvan Zapata's flick, but the Argentine was ruled offside by the video assistant referee (VAR).
Four minutes later, Smalling hit Atalanta with a sucker punch, meeting Jordan Veretout's superb free-kick to jab home the third from close range.
Abraham made it six league goals for the season with eight minutes remaining, lashing home a powerful first-time finish after Veretout's blocked shot fell to him perfectly in shooting range.
