ROME: England striker Tammy Abraham is thriving at AS Roma after leaving European champions Chelsea.

The forward, on whom Jose Mourinho convinced Roma to spend 40 million euros ($44 million) on in August, was decisive for the second consecutive game as Roma beat Atalanta 1-0 in Serie A on Saturday in a key match for the Champions League places.

Abraham’s first-half goal was his 20th across all competitions for Roma and it followed his late strike against Spezia in another 1-0 win last weekend.

The victory extended Roma’s unbeaten streak to seven matches and drew the Giallorossi level on 47 points with Atalanta in fifth, three points behind fourth-placed Juventus with the top four qualifying for the Champions League.

“We’re learning more and more about each other every today,” Abraham said. “A couple of months ago we probably would have conceded a goal in the last minute. But we fought as a team today.”

Roma had the better of the opening exchanges with Gianluca Mancini heading against the crossbar early on, before Abraham calmly slotted home his 13th Serie A goal of the season in the 32nd minute.

The visitors never really looked like getting back into the contest, with Roma holding on as Mourinho served the final game of his two-match touchline ban.

Atalanta’s miserable afternoon was made complete as Marten de Roon was sent off in stoppage time after receiving two bookings in quick succession for vigorously protesting against a Roma free kick. Henrikh Mkhitaryan was then also sent off for Roma, but by then the game was won.

Lazio are a point behind Roma in seventh after seeing off relegation-threatened Cagliari 3-0 in Sardinia.

A penalty from Ciro Immobile, a club record-equalling 143rd league goal for Lazio, a beautiful counter-attack goal started and finished by Luis Alberto and a Felipe Anderson strike handed Cagliari just their second league defeat of 2022.

Elsewhere, Udinese pulled clear of the relegation zone after they beat Sampdoria 2-1 in a match where all the goals were scored inside the first 13 minutes.

Published in Dawn, March 7th, 2022