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Claudio Ranieri’s return to Roma has yet to deliver the turnaround fans were hoping for. In his third spell at the helm of the Giallorossi, following stints in 2009 and 2019, the 73-year-old coach has overseen two Serie A defeats and a draw in the Europa League against Tottenham.
The fixture list has not been kind to Ranieri, who began his tenure with two challenging matches. The first was at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium against a rejuvenated Napoli under Antonio Conte. The Giallorossi suffered heartbreak as former Roma striker Romelu Lukaku sealed a late 1-0 victory, crushing hopes of salvaging a point. A hard-fought 2-2 draw away at Tottenham in the Europa League, secured by Mats Hummels’ last-gasp strike, provided temporary relief.
Against Atalanta, however, Roma once again failed to deliver anything new. Ranieri fielded a lineup brimming with experience, including Hummels at the heart of defense, Paredes orchestrating the midfield in a five-man setup, and Dybala providing creativity behind Dovbyk. Despite their efforts, Roma fell short against an in-form Atalanta, who secured their eighth consecutive Serie A victory.
The Giallorossi were undone in the 69th minute when a crucial deflection off Celik turned De Roon’s shot into the back of the net. To compound their misery, former Roma hero Nicolò Zaniolo—who scored the decisive goal in the 2022 Conference League final against Feyenoord—added a second in the 89th minute with a deflected strike off Mancini.
Perhaps the most damning statistic from the match was Roma’s lone shot on target out of just five attempts. Such an output is far too meager for a team desperate to claw their way out of a precarious position. With just 13 points from 14 league games, Roma sits two points above third-bottom Como, in a table that paints a worrying picture.
The Giallorossi are now on a four-game losing streak in Serie A and have not won since October 31, when a 1-0 victory over Torino was secured by Dybala. The team is mired in a deep crisis, and Ranieri has been tasked with finding the formula to lift them out of this bleak period. So far, however, little has changed.
The next match, at home against Lecce (who are level on points with Roma), is already being viewed as a must-win. The pressure is mounting, and the clock is ticking.
