Ranieri's emotional return to Rome ends in defeat

On an emotional night in Rome on Monday, Claudio Ranieri returned to the Stadio Olimpico as the coach of his boyhood club, and Fiorentina midfielder Edoardo Bove received an outpouring of support following his collapse during a Serie A game against Inter Milan on Sunday.

The result was a different story, as Atalanta stayed hot on the heels of league leader Napoli by winning 2-0 at struggling Roma, which was playing at home for the first time since the return of Ranieri.

Gian Piero Gasperini's side is one point behind Napoli, thanks to Marten De Roon's wildly deflected strike in the 69th minute and former Roma attacker Nicolo Zaniolo's late header, which gave the Bergamo club its eighth straight win in all competitions.

It is also out on its own in second place, three points ahead of champion Inter Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio, after the perfect start to a tough mini-run of fixtures, with AC Milan and Real Madrid visiting in the coming days.

Atalanta, which made history by winning the Europa League last season, looks more convincing as Scudetto challenger with each passing week.

A traditionally small club that has never been crowned Italian champion, Atalanta is leading the division in goals, has the top scorer in Mateo Retegui, and is on an eight-match winning streak in the league.

"Great stuff today, it wasn't easy, in fact, it was very difficult," goalscorer De Roon told Sky.

"It's always great to win here, but let's keep our feet on the ground, take each game as it comes. But, this run of wins gives us a lot of belief."

Roma, meanwhile, sits just two points above the relegation zone in 15th after a sixth defeat in seven league matches, and although Ranieri's team was well-drilled, his players created little beyond a few speculative early shots.

Atalanta 'ready'

Twice Roma failed to get proper contact on good chances in the second half with the match still goalless.

"We went at it with them as long as we had the energy to do so," said Ranieri. "You have to realize that (Atalanta) is a team which has everything in place to fight for the title. They're ready; really ready."

Fans welcomed Ranieri back to the Stadio Olimpico with a series of chants and banners, and during the prematch warm-up Roma's players also wore T-shirts with the message "Forza Edo" for Edoardo Bove.

Bove, a Roma academy product on loan at Fiorentina from Roma since August, is now conscious after being put in a medically induced coma at Florence's Careggi hospital, and undergoing tests to determine why he suddenly collapsed 16 minutes into Sunday's fixture, which was called off and will be finished later in the season.

The 22-year-old was part of the Roma team guided by Jose Mourinho that won the inaugural Europa Conference League in 2022 and reached the following season's Europa League final.

Inter and Fiorentina both have a game in hand on Atalanta due to their match being stopped for Bove's collapse.

AFP