Gian Piero Gasperini endured a frustrating return to Bergamo as Roma slipped to a narrow 1-0 defeat against Atalanta, extending their poor away form with a third consecutive Serie A loss on the road. The victory marked Atalanta’s fourth win in five league outings, while Roma’s faltering title bid suffered another setback.

Despite having won just two of their previous 15 meetings with La Dea, Roma were handed a golden early chance to improve that record. Seven minutes in, Paulo Dybala capitalised on an underhit backpass from Ederson and squared for Evan Ferguson. Marco Carnesecchi saved the striker’s first attempt, and Ferguson looked set to score from the rebound, only for Berat Djimsiti to produce a superb goal-line header to deny him.

Atalanta responded positively and struck the decisive blow five minutes later. Mile Svilar failed to deal cleanly with Nicola Zalewski’s corner, allowing Giorgio Scalvini to bundle the ball over the line. After a lengthy VAR review, the defender’s second goal of the season was confirmed.

Given that the side scoring first had gone on to win 16 of Roma’s 17 league matches this campaign, Atalanta showed little intention of relinquishing their advantage. Zalewski wasted a promising opening, while Gianluca Scamacca bent an effort narrowly wide as the hosts pressed for a second.

Scamacca then thought he had doubled the lead, rising above the Roma defence to head in Lorenzo Bernasconi’s deep cross, but an extended VAR check eventually ruled the goal out for offside in the build-up.

Clear chances were scarce towards the end of the first half, but Roma emerged with renewed intent after the break. Ferguson forced Carnesecchi into a sharp save after cleverly carving out space inside the penalty area, before the Atalanta goalkeeper stood firm again to keep out a near-post effort from Matias Soulé.

Once Roma’s pressure subsided, Raffaele Palladino’s side almost sealed the result midway through the second half, with another swift counter-attack ending in Bernasconi firing just wide. A looping Nikola Krstovic header over the bar from a corner was Atalanta’s only other notable chance late on.

Roma struggled to muster a meaningful response, with Dybala’s ambitious bicycle kick drifting harmlessly wide, allowing Atalanta to see out the victory and avoid consecutive home defeats for the first time since March.

The result leaves Roma with four defeats in their last six league matches, all by a single-goal margin, as their Serie A title aspirations continue to fade amid mounting frustration.