Tammy Abraham helped himself to a double as Roma claimed a hugely impressive win at Atalanta, ending the home side’s six-game winning streak in the process.
It took Roma less than a minute to break the deadlock when Abraham powered through a crowd of defenders and his deflected shot left Juan Musso with no chance.
Atalanta responded well but committed too many bodies forward and were punished when Roma sprang a counter-attack with Nicolo Zaniolo – the creator of the opening goal – squeezing it past Musso at his near post.
In response, Gasperini made an early substitution, replacing Berat Djimsiti with Luis Muriel, who made an almost immediate impact when his shot was deflected by Bryan Cristante, wrong-footing Rui Patricio and halving the deficit on the stroke of half-time.
After the restart, Duvan Zapata thought he had grabbed the equaliser with an instinctive header but VAR intervened and the goal was ruled out for offside.
And just two minutes later Atalanta’s pain was compounded as Roma restored their two-goal advantage, Chris Smalling stabbing home at the far post from Jordan Veretout’s free-kick delivery.
Abraham put the gloss on a thrilling away performance, smashing the ball into the top corner from 10 yards.
The win takes Roma above Fiorentina into fifth place, five points behind fourth-placed Napoli. Atalanta remain third, six points adrift of leaders Inter.
TALKING POINT – MOURINHO SILENCES CRITICS WITH CONVINCING AWAY WIN
A lot has been written and said about Mourinho recently amid Roma’s poor run of form, but this eye-catching victory will silence his critics – for now.
Atalanta had won every league game since the beginning of November, scoring goals for fun along the way, but they were punished time and time again by a ruthless Roma side who were just as effective defensively. Abraham set the tone early, albeit with a fortuitous goal, and after a lengthy spell without a goal it was exactly what he needed. His relief was tangible and he looked a player reborn, scoring his first brace in the Serie A.
Could this be a season-defining win for Roma? A Champions League place is now in sight and Mourinho will be hoping his side can finish their hectic festive schedule with another triumph when they host Sampdoria on Wednesday.