I watched the match, i can't say i became wiser. Yes, they had the better chances and, yes, they probably didn't deserve to lose, but i don't feel they did enough to win the game either. People should also keep in mind that Atalanta are way more comfortable sitting back and being direct this season.
As all Mourinho sides, Roma live and die with their forward of choice, and Mourinho has invested a lot in Tammy. It's not just the goals, but also the movement and the general play. The thing is that Abraham's performances are often erratic, even within games. In the first half hour, Tammy looked like he had never played football before in his life, and it comes as no surprise that Roma were very tepid on the pitch. Suddenly, in the final 15 minutes of the half, he sprang to life: Holding up the ball, movement outside the box, spotting runs in-behind, he was doing everything right, except for the finishing. That's when Roma created their best chances. In the second half, he was blowing hot and cold and it showed and the team's overall performance. Then he brought off, and they resorted to Belotti trying to chest down hoof balls and Zaniolo trying to dribble past 2-3 players or fool the officials.
All in all, it was one of those games that make you think that "besides that 15 minutes toward the end of the half, plus two 5-minute spells in the second, the game was played out mostly the way the away team wanted". He had these games at United, when he would complain about the chances missed (or the officials) and conveniently leave out the fact for huge parts of the game we were looking lost at sea. Not a good tempo, zero control of the rhythm of the game, not sustained pressure, not much penetration against a set defence. With everybody around in the Serie A him being shite, he should do better. Still, i see the same man who insists on quick transitions through the middle and simple numerical advantages in the central channels to force the issue. Oh, and set-pieces. Problem is, it doesn't work us well as it used to with more teams nowadays being better with ball.
