Atalanta travelled to the capital looking to apply pressure to Napoli at the Italian summit and faced a Giallorossi side who were looking to reignite their own season having lost four of the last five league games.
That drive from Roma nearly got them the early lead when Leandro Paredes took a shot from outside the box, forcing Marco Carnesecchi into an early save. That quick start quickly simmered out after that chance, with clear-cut openings coming at a premium for both outfits.
Manu Kone’s strike from distance went just wide of the post with the hosts’ next chance, but perhaps the most impressive aspect of their first-half display was how well they limited a free-flowing Atalanta attack.
The final ball was eluding both sides before the break, setting the stage for an intriguing second half in the capital.
The interval didn’t seem to do much to spark any offensive creativity from either side, as the hour mark approached without seeing a single shot at goal since the restart.
Sead Kolsinac finally recorded the first chance of the half with just over 20 minutes left, as his shot flew well wide of the mark.
This at least seemed to spark something in his teammates, with Marten de Roon breaking the deadlock by letting rip from outside the box, with a wicked deflection helping the Dutchman beat Mile Svilar.
Roma never seemed to recover from that setback and were condemned to another defeat when two former players combined to double the visitors lead, as Juan Cuadrado found Nicolo Zaniolo in the box with the Italian rifling a header into the back of the net.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s men are now 13 games unbeaten in all competitions as they continue their pursuit of the Scudetto.
Meanwhile, it’s another hard result for Roma to swallow, with their inability to score leaving them in 15th with four straight defeats as they sit precariously close to the relegation zone.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Marten de Roon (Atalanta)