Just two minutes into Monday’s match, Roma found itself in front of Serie A opponents Atalanta thanks to a moment of brilliance from former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Javier Pastore.
Having just joined Roma this summer from the French top flight, Pastore earned his second Serie A start and put it to good use. An expert cross from 21-year-old Turkish international Cengiz Under was whipped in on his left foot, and Pastore audaciously attempted to back-heel the ball into the net. He directed it towards the far post, and left Atalanta goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini with no chance as he scrambled back attempting to collect the slow-roller.
GOLAZO Pastore!!! Roma 1-0 Atalanta pic.twitter.com/ayRAuv3aOv
— Serie A News (@TransfersCalcio) August 27, 2018
The match took many twists and turns after this incredible start. Atalanta would shockingly go 3-1 up before halftime on a brace from Emiliano Rigoni and one more by Timothy Castagne. Roma would then come back to even things up with a pair of second-half goals to earn a point. Overall, there were an insane 48 shots in the match split between the two teams, with 16 of them on target. Expected goals put the predicted final score at 2.3-2.0, an impressively high total for that statistic.
The draw put both teams on four points, impressive for Atalanta as they also navigate a campaign through the Europa League. They sit two back of the three unblemished sides Juventus, Napoli, and SPAL.