Daily Times

Atalanta stayed hot on the heels of Serie A leaders Napoli on Monday by winning 2-0 at struggling Roma, who were playing at home for the first time since Claudio Ranieri’s return as coach of his boyhood club. Atalanta are 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 their eighth straight win in all competitions. Gian Piero Gasperini’s side are out on their own in second place, three points ahead of champions 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, who made history by winning the Europa League last season, look more convincing as Scudetto challengers with each passing week. A traditionally small club who have never been crowned Italian champions, Atalanta are the division’s leading scorers, have the top goalscorer in Mateo Retegui and are on an eight-match winning run in Serie A.