Sinners & Saints: Roma 1, Atalanta 1

Roma's Spanish defender #22 Mario Hermoso celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the Italian Serie A football match between AS Roma and Atalanta at the Olympic Stadium in Rome on April 18, 2026. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images If you listened to the commentary during yesterday’s match without knowing who the opponent was, you might not have noticed any difference. Roma’s 1-1 draw with Atalanta was more of the same for Roma; another disappointing performance against one of Italy’s top teams.

That’s not to dismiss their effort—they fired 18 shots on goal, after all, and were a miracle Marco Carnesecchi performance away from at least a 2-1 win—but for the umpteenth time this season, the Giallorossi came up short when it mattered most. Through 33 matches, Roma has managed only one victory against the clubs currently in the top seven. No matter how you slice it, that simply won’t cut it.

And with Gian Piero Gasperini now giving ambiguous answers to questions about his future, Trigoria is about to become a hotbed of speculation, rumors, and hearsay. Though, to be fair to Gasp, those questions about his job security are a bit premature, to say the least. As with most 1-1 draws, it can be difficult to separate the sinners from the saints, but we’re going to give it the old college try!

The Sinners Neil El Aynaoui A player who can’t crack Gasperini’s lineup rotation yet is somehow linked to some of the biggest clubs in the world, says more about the nature of football journalism than it does the quality of the player or the clubs in question. Still, El Aynaoui, who made only his sixth start of the season yesterday, did little to bolster his case for more playing time in Rome. In 60 minutes, El Aynaoui was Roma’s lowest-rated outfield player across multiple sites, struggling to make an impact in the midfield, particularly defensively, where he won only one of nine duels, made one defensive action, and committed an error that led to a shot on goal.